The Tales of Harley Potter
by QueenBookDragon
Summary: This is a Fem!HP story, in which Harley Potter looks like Lily, but with James' facial features. This is her story containing both parts from the movies and books, because I'm using my memory of events and they kinda blur together sometimes. This is the first book, first person telling of the Sorcerer's Stone.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm adding things from both the movie and the book series. The start is from chapter 2**

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The door to my cupboard shook as my aunt Petunia knocked harshly on it to wake me up. I had lived with her and my uncle and cousin since I could remember, although I did have faint memories of different people holding me. I got out of the cupboard, before Dudley came down, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He always got a lot of things for his birthday. Toys, games, and the latest electronics, while I only got something old from Petunia or Vernon. Putting on the eggs, bacon, and toast, I could hear Dudley complaining about something, then opening his presents. I put the food on the table and took a small portion for myself. "After you clean up, put something suitable on, we're going to the zoo," aunt Petunia said. "One of the nicer dresses you have, please."

"Yes aunt Petunia." We sat in silence as we finished our meal, and then I quickly washed the dishes. I could hear Dudley upstairs in his room playing with something. I went to my closet, and tried to find something among the hand-me-downs that looked nicer than what I usually wore. I found a blouse and a pair of jeans, which looked old and worn. I didn't remember seeing them anywhere, but they were my size, so I put them on.

Coming out of the cupboard, I decided to braid my hair back so it wasn't in my face like it always was. I grabbed one of the elastic bands from a package I had, and a brush, and crept into the bathroom. To french braid my hair didn't take long, but I needed a mirror to tell if the braid was straight or not.

Aunt Petunia was in the kitchen, drinking tea when I came out about seven minutes later, and when she saw me, she looked startled. I'd never seen her like that before.

"Are you alright aunt Petunia?" I asked cautiously.

She nodded briskly and turned away from me. "Alright, Duddykins, let's get to the zoo now." I walked towards the door and put on my ratty sneakers and went out of the door to the car.

Before I got in, my uncle whispered, "No funny business, or you'll not have meals for a week!" I nodded, and got into the back seat with Dudley.

The car trip didn't really take that long, but sitting with my cousin was awful. I had to keep my hair on my shoulder to keep him from tugging on the braid when he was bored, which was like every five to ten minutes.

We finally got to the zoo, and I looked around at the area. I hang back while my Aunt and Uncle got Dudley an ice cream. Before we walked away, the lady asked what I wanted. Before I could respond, Uncle Vernon had gotten me a cheap lemon pop, which tasted great.

The rest of the trip flew by, and we stopped for lunch at the zoo's diner. Dudley got an ice cream, but he complained that it didn't have enough. Uncle Vernon gave that one to me, and ordered another for him. It was one of the best things I'd ever ate.

Then Dudley wanted to go see the reptile house, so we went there. I tagged along behind them, taking my time with them, but also making sure I could find them if I stayed too long. I saw him try to get a snake to move, but it appeared to be asleep. I lingered by a different animal until Dudley stopped banging on the glass.

When he finally moved on, I went up to the snake. Looking at it, it was large enough to crush my Uncle's car into a trash can. I felt like I could relate to the snake, it having to deal with people coming over, trying to wake it up from what could be a peaceful dream, just to stare at you while you ate or moved. I had that with Aunt Petunia, her banging on my cupboard, waking me up to do the chores. At least I got to move around the house, while the snake only had the confines of it's glass enclosure.

It moved it's head up as I thought, and looked at me straight in the eyes. I could've imagined it, but I heard him say, "I get people like that all the time. I'm used to it by now, although it doesn't get any easier."

"You just spoke to me, do you speak with humans often?" I whispered, looking over my shoulder to see if Uncle Vernon was watching me.

"No, you'd be the first."

I looked around the glass, searching for something to recognize the snake with. "It says here that you're a Boa Constrictor? Have you been here all your life?"

He nodded sadly. "I was raised in captivity, and the only interactions I get have so far been when food's brought over, and now you."

"MUM, DAD, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THE SNAKE'S DOING!" I jumped and fell backwards, Dudley's voice coming from right behind me. I got furious as he pressed his face up to the glass, when it just vanished.

Dudley fell into the case with the Constrictor, and the snake slid out of the case. "Thanks, I will repay you for helping me, someday." He slid out of the Reptile House, and I laughed at everyone's screaming.

Then I noticed that Dudley was trapped in the enclosure, the glass had reappeared.

"But I didn't do it!" I said as I was shoved into my cupboard after we got back from the zoo. I lay there for I don't know how long. I didn't even understand what had happened. I felt my stomach rumble, but I didn't know if it would be safe for me to sneak some food. My thoughts wandered to why I was with an aunt and uncle. They told me that my parents had died in a crash, and that was the reason I had a strange scar on my forehead, even though I don't remember it, or my parents. For almost ten years I'd lived under the stairs. For as long as I could remember, I had dreamed of my parents. A whisper of their voices here, a face or memory there, but the one that dominated my memory was of a green flashing light. I didn't know why I dreamt of them, because I hadn't seen them since they died, because there weren't any pictures of them in the house.

Sometimes I looked at myself in the mirror and wonder, how much did I look like my mum? Sometimes Aunt Petunia would just stare at me, and I didn't know why. Another thing I didn't know was why strange people always came to me, or why I had a weird scar on my forehead, although Aunt Petunia said it was because a piece of glass had cut me in the car crash.

I also wondered what it would be like to have friends. Because of Dudley's gang, I didn't really know anyone because they were all afraid of them. I always went over these things in my head when I was locked in my cupboard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so chapter two here! Enjoy!**

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When I could finally get out of my cupboard for good, it was summer. I knew that Dudley had broken most all of his toys from his birthday, and was the reason Mrs. Figg had to be on crutches a bit longer. And of course, Dudley's gang was at the house basically every day. I spent most of my time outside, doing the garden or taking care of the yard, but away from the gang and Dudley. I didn't want to be caught up in their games again. I knew that tending the garden was my safest bet to stay safe, because Aunt Petunia always threw a fit when he messed up the plants.

I was also excited because I wouldn't have to be around him at school, because the one he was going to, Smeltings, was a boy's only school! But I _was_ going to the local public school, Stonewall High, which didn't have very good rumors going around.

But soon enough, July was starting, and Aunt Petunia took Dudley to get a uniform, which meant I had to go to Mrs. Figgs. She was nice enough, but she had too many cats. She had tripped over one, so she had a cast on her leg. But this time wasn't all that boring. She let me watch something on the television, but also gave me a slice of cake that didn't taste too good.

That night, I tried to avoid Dudley because his outfit was just downright hideous, but I wasn't allowed to go to my cupboard until dinner was over and the dishes done. I did that as quickly as possible, because if I didn't I might have laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

I then went to my cupboard, and fell asleep. Though the next morning, I saw a stack of clothes in a bin of water in the sink. I didn't know what they were for, but I started on breakfast so I didn't get into trouble.

Aunt Petunia came in a moment later, and I asked her, "Why's there a bunch of clothes in the sink?"

"They're for your new school. I'm dying some old things for you," she replied with a scowl, and I went back to making breakfast. When it was done, Dudley and Uncle Vernon had come and seated themselves at the table. I brought over the food, but as I sat down, the mail came through the door.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.

"Make Harley get it."

"Get the mail, Harley," he said.

"Make Dudley get it."

"Poke her with your stick, Dudley," was the last thing he said before he knocked the stick my way. I scurried out of its arc, and headed towards the door. Picking up the envelopes, I shuffled through them, looking at what they were.

A postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister, a bill, and an envelope that had a weird texture to it. I put that one on top and looked at the address.

_Miss H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

It was had emerald green ink written on what looked to be yellow parchment paper with no stamp. I walked over to the kitchen before my Uncle yelled for me, and noticed a coat of arms on the back. It had a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger around a large letter H on it.

I passed the other two things to my Uncle, and sat down with my letter. I opened it, and tried to take the letter out, but it was ripped out of my hands as Dudley screamed in my ear, "Dad! Dad, Harley's gotten something!"

"Hey! Give it back, it's mine!" I yelled.

"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.

"Pe-Petunia," he gasped.

Dudley said he wanted to read it, but Uncle Vernon just pulled it back from him. He showed it to Aunt Petunia quickly, and she paled. I knew those looks, and I was pretty sure they were going to explode. A moment after my deduction, Dudley screamed again, "What is it? I want to see!"

"Get out, the both of you," was the only response.

Knowing that I didn't want to be shouted at, I quickly scurried off to my cupboard. What was in the letter that made them so angry and scared? Dudley followed, but stuck at the door, which was now shut. We both listened in, him for once more interested in that then me.

I could hear them talking, as if they were scared of something. "Vernon, look at the address. How could they possibly know where she's sleeping? Do you think they've been watching us?" I heard Aunt Petunia say.

"Watching, spying, they might even be following us, Uncle Vernon muttered.

"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want her to-" she started, but was cut off by Uncle Vernon.

"No, we'll have to ignore it. That would be best...not do anything," he muttered again. "I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

Before they could open the door, I got off of the floor and got into my cupboard.

|HP|

When Uncle Vernon got home from work that evening, he came to my cupboard, which he never did. I was staring at the wall opposite when he opened the door.

"What did you do with the letter?" I asked as soon as I could see his face.

"No one. it was addressed to you by mistake, so I burned it."

"It wasn't a mistake! It had my cupboard on it!" I half shouted.

He huffed, and took a few deep breaths, and forced a smile. "About that. Your Aunt Petunia and I think it would be a good idea to move you into Dudley's old room, you are getting to be a bit big for this cupboard anyways. So pack up your stuff and get going." With that he left me, but he did leave a box behind, so that was unusually helpful of him. When I packed my stuff up, I headed upstairs to the smallest bedroom, which had a lot of old, broken toys of Dudley's.

When I reached the room, I plopped onto the bed, and started to organize the room, shoving the old stuff into the corner next to the window, opposite of the bed, and looked around. The broken things were in the corner, a birdcage was on the dresser, and my clothes were hanging in the wardrobe and folded in the dresser.

I could hear Dudley complaining about something, but I didn't bother to listen to what he was saying. I went to bed, and was surprised at how easily I fell asleep.

|HP|

The next morning was a bit frantic. After making breakfast and eating, partway through the meal, the mail came. I was going to stand, but Uncle Vernon asked Dudley to get it. I ate a bit more, then Dudley came in, waving a letter identical to the first.

"She's got another one! Miss H. Potter, the smallest bedroom," he said, and tried to open it. I watched as Uncle Vernon took it out of his hand before he could rip it open.

"Get to your room," was all he had said about it, and I complied, running up the stairs.

|HP|

The next few days passed by fast. I got at least three dozen more letters, but I never got to open them. They were either ripped to pieces or burned. Uncle Vernon had nailed the mailslot shut, but whoever was leaving the letters was clever, and put them through other things. They were in the cracks of the doors, the window, and even rolled up inside of the two dozen eggs, so we didn't have eggs that morning. They were very persistent, and I didn't know who would want to send me so many letters.

Soon enough, Sunday came. Sunday was a day of peace, my Uncle thought, so there wasn't any post on Sunday.

Or so we thought.

I was staring wildly at Uncle Vernon, who was spreading marmalade on his newspaper, when suddenly, at least thirty letters came right out of the fireplace, knocking into him. They were flying all over the place, and I picked one off of the floor, and ran into the hall, but I didn't get far because it was taken out of my hands by Aunt Petunia, and I was shoved out of the dining room into the hallway with Dudley.

Uncle Vernon was fuming, but he tried to keep calm as he said, "Go pack some clothes, we're going away for a few days."

|HP|

An hour later, we'd done just that. In a few hours, I'd been more places than in my entire life. Uncle Vernon just stopped somewhere, looked around, and then we left. When it started to rain, Dudley complained about missing one of his favorite shows because it was Monday. A thought struck me as I looked out of the window. Monday meant tomorrow was Tuesday. If tomorrow was Tuesday, then it would be my eleventh birthday! If there was one thing I was looking forwards to, it was tomorrow just because of my birthday.

About half an hour after that realization, I was sitting in an old rowboat that was taking us to a location in a very bad storm. It was a shack on top of a rocky ledge, but we had to take the boat to get there.

"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard."

We all got into the boat, and it seemed to take hours to get to our destination. It was very wet and cold in the shack, and we didn't have any firewood. The cracks in the wooden walls let the wind in, so it was even colder, plus it smelled like something had rotted for a few months, with the smell of seaweed. Me and Dudley had to argue over who took the couch, while my Aunt and Uncle took the bedroom.

Besides that, it was still raining and I had come to the conclusion that he had taken us there because no one would be able to post the mail in such a storm. Uncle Vernon tried to start a fire with the leftover chip bags from dinner, but they just shriveled up and smoked.

I couldn't sleep because of how cold and noisy it was in the shack, and because Dudley had won the fight for the couch so I was on the hard wooden floor with nothing but a ragged blanket. I tried to fall asleep, but then Dudley moved and his arm flopped off the couch, and the watch on his wrist showed the time, which was a few minutes before midnight. I drew in the dirt, making a little birthday cake with candles for me to blow out. When I saw it had just a minute before midnight, I hummed the birthday song I so often heard for Dudley, but never myself.

I had blown the dust candles when I heard something a bit louder than the thunder in the distance, louder than the snores coming from both the couch and the bedroom. They sounded like footsteps, but I ignored it, until something that definitely wasn't thunder pounded on the door.

**BOOM.**

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**And so chapter two ends! Thanks for the review! **

**REVIEWS-**

**Oriande Moonshadow- **The answer to your question would be this: So obviously she's going to the girls' dorm and will have different roommates, but I'm thinking of sparking a romance in a later year, not sure with whom, though. There will be different choices that she makes based on her knowledge, her appearance will draw some attention from boys, and I'm trying to figure out how Snape's gonna react when he sees her, because she's like Lily's doppelganger. Treatment from different students will change, and I'm trying to figure out how exactly interactions with others will be, including Hagrid and her other friends.


	3. Chapter 3

The whole shack shook with the force of whoever was knocking on the door. Uncle Vernon came out into the room with a rifle, and I wondered where he got that, then remembered him carrying a slim package. Dudley had jolted awake, but I wasn't really paying him any attention.

Uncle Vernon had cocked the rifle to his shoulder, and shouted, "Who's there? I warn you, I'm armed!"

The pounding on the door stopped, then it fell to the floor with a loud SMASH!

A very tall man stepped through the now open doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. He walked across the door, and put it back into its frame.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey," the strange man said was he walked over to the couch where Dudley was sitting. We all were silent in our shock.

Dudley was frozen in place, but moved when the man came too close to the couch. He ran over to his mum, who was behind Uncle Vernon. Then the man saw where I was sitting in the shadows.

I could see the man's eyes glinting, wrinkling as he smiled. "An' here's Harley! You were only a baby when I saw you las', you look so much like your mother, but there's also a lo' of yer dad as well."

I saw that Uncle Vernon had aimed the rifle in his hands at the man. "I demand you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," he said. He reached over and grabbed the rifle out of Uncle Vernon's hands, and then he twisted it into a pretzel like it was made of rubber. "Anyway. Harley, happy birthday to yeh, I got summat fer yeh here, I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

The man took a large box from one of his pockets, and gave it to me. I took it from his hands, and opened it. Inside the box was a sticky chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. On top of the cake were the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARLEY_ in green icing.

I looked up at him. "Um, thank you, but who are you?"

He chuckled, and replied, "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, but you can call me Hagrid, everyone does." He paused, then looked at Uncle Vernon.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it."

Then he looked to the fireplace with the pitifully burnt and shriveled chip bags. He crouched next to it, and a few moments later, there was a fire blazing in the shack, and I could feel the warmth. I crawled closer to it as the man who called himself Hagrid pull out multiple supplies for breakfast from his pockets, including sausage, a teapot, a few teacups, and a poker for the sausage. He started to make sausage over the fire, and the smell and the sound of the sizzling meat made my stomach rumble.

By time they were done, there were six cooked sausages and he had put on tea. He gave me a few sausages and I took them, chewing carefully to savor what was the first real thing I'd eaten in a few days. I was so engrossed with the food I didn't notice when I'd finished, so I licked off my fingers.

"Um," I started, wanting to make sure he heard me. "I'm sorry, but I don't know exactly who you are."

He looked down at me from the couch, and took a sip of tea. "I told yeh tha' I'm the Keeper of Keys and Ground at Hogwarts. But o'course yeh'll know all abou' Hogwarts."

_What's Hogwarts?_ I thought, and decided to voice this concern. "Um, I'm sorry, but what's Hogwarts?"

"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"

I was startled at his reaction. "Learn what, exactly?"

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled, "that this girl-this girl!-knows nothin' abou'-about ANYTHING?"

"Hey," I said defensively, "I do pretty well in school."

"I mean about yer parent's world, our world." He looked pretty bewildered that I didn't know what he was talking about.

"What world?"

"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad, they're famous, yer famous."

"My parents are famous? I'm famous?" _How could they be famous?_ I thought

Hagrid ran his hands through his tangled hair. "How could yeh not know? How could yeh not know wha' yeh are?"

"STOP! I forbid you from telling her anything else!" I jumped as Uncle Vernon shouted at Hagrid.

He then cowered as the giant man turned towards him. "You never told her?" His voice sounded calm, collected. "You never told her what was in the letter that Dumbledore left for her?" His voice rose, and his anger could be felt in every word. "I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave the letter for her, Dursley, and you never told her? All o' these years!"

I was scared of what was going on, I'd never felt safe when people yelled, and I was afraid to ask what was kept from me.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" He shouted, but whatever he tried to avoid had already started to come from Hagrid's mouth, and Aunt Petunia gasped.

"Harley, yer a witch."

"I'm a witch?"

"Yeah, and a thumpin good one too, I'd say, once ye've been trained up a bit. An', with a mum an' dad like yer's, what else could yeh be? Now, I think it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."

Hagrid handed me an envelope, identical to the ones that were taken away from me. I took it, and opened it.

In the same green ink on the outside, the letter said,

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

I reread it several times before I actually believed it. Then I remembered, the thirty first of July was today. "Hagrid, what about the owl? It says that they await it no later than today."

"Gallopin Gorgons, tha' reminds me," he said, and took out a quill and ink, some parchment, and a very alive looking owl that seemed very upset about being in a pocket for so long. He started to write a note, and I read it upside down.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Given Harley her letter._

_Taking him to buy her things tomorrow._

_Weather's horrible. Hope you're Well._

_Hagrid_

He tied it to the owl, and threw it out of the door and into the storm. "Now, where was I?" He said as he sat back down on the couch.

"She'll not be going," I heard Uncle Vernon say before Hagrid could answer his own question.

"An' I suppose a great Muggle like yerself's gonna stop me?" Hagrid replied.

"What's a Muggle?" I asked.

"It's what we call non magic folk. An' I'm sorry ter say tha't yeh grew up with the worst of 'em."

"We swore that we'd stamp out the magic from her, to put a stop to that rubbish as soon as we brought her into our house. A witch indeed," he laughed

I had had enough from them now. "You knew? You knew I'm a witch?" I asked.

"KNEW!" Aunt Petunia shrieked for the first time since Hagrid came into the shack. "Of course we knew. How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that school, and she came back every vacation with her pockets full of frogspawn, and turning teacups into rats. Our parents were so proud, but I was the only one to see her for what she was, a FREAK!" She kept going, as if it was all building up for years before she just let it all out. "Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as-as, abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

I was filled with rage at that point, but tried to not let any of it show. "Blown up?" I said cooly. "You said, you both said, that they got killed in a car crash!"

"A CAR CRASH? A CAR CRASH KILL LILY AND JAMES POTTER? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harley Potter not knowing her own story, when everyone in our world knows her name!"

"Why does everyone know my name? Does that have to do with me being famous?" I asked.

Hagrid paled. "I never expected yeh'd not know that much. I mean, Dumbledore said there might've been trouble gettin a hold of yeh, but never though' I'd have to tell yeh this." He sighed, and continued after throwing a dirty look at the Dursleys. "I'll tell yeh as much of yer story as I can, though it's not much. It begins with a man who's name is known by everyone, but they're too afraid to speak it, no one does, except for Dumbledore."

"What's his name?" I asked, feeling bad now, because he'd have to say it.

"His name was Voldemort. Yeh gotta understand though, don't ever repeat his name to anyone. People are still scared he'll come back and get 'em. Anyways, he started to collect followers, and took them down a dark and evil path abou' twenty years ago. Some were afraid of him, but others just wanted power. Back then, yeh didn't know who to trust, and yeh'd know better than to converse with a strange witch or wizard that no one knew. And those who defied them died. He was taking over areas of land and people. The only safe place I suppose would've been Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were an amazing pair o' witche and wizard I'd ever seen. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. All anyone knows is that on Halloween ten years ago, he came to the village where they were hiding. You was just a year old then, an' he came to yer house, and- an-" He blew his nose on a handkerchief he brought out of his pockets. "Sorry, it's just such a sad story. Yer mum an' dad were the nicest people yeh could've found back then.

"But he killed them. You-Know-Who killed yer parents, and then the real mystery is how he disappeared. Some say he wanted to make a clean job outa it, and tried to kill you as well. But he couldn't kill you. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a Powerful, evil curse touches yeh-took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even-but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts-an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

His story drew close to an end, and I could feel coldness creeping into my bones, and I saw a flash of green light, and something that never happened in my dreams, but I heard a sharp, cruel laugh.

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…"

"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. I jumped, almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. "Now, you listen here girl. I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured-and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion-asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types-just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"

Hagrid jumped up suddenly, and drew a pink umbrella from his coat, and pointed it like a sword at Uncle Vernon. "I'm warning yeh, Dursley, one more word…" he snarled, and he backed up, the bravery he had a moment ago vanished.

I still had so many questions, I didn't know which ones to ask. So I just asked an easy one in my mind. "But what happened to You-Know-Who?"

"Now tha's a good question. No one really knows abou' what happened to him. He just disappeared, vanished. Some think he's really dead, others think he's biding his time til he can come back, which I don' believe. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've if he was still ou' there.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harley. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on. I dunno what it was, no one does-but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

He looked at me with respect, blazing in his eyes as if I had actually done those things. But how could I? Surely, I thought he had made a mistake. How could I be a witch? I'd been kicked around, bullied by my cousin and his gang all of my life. Bullied by everyone I'd ever met, even my teachers seemed to have it out for me. If I was a witch, then how come they didn't turn into warty toads whenever I was mistreated, shoved into the cupboard or had my head bashed on the playground or walls at school.

"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but I think you have the wrong person," I told him, speaking quietly.

He chuckled, to my surprise. "Not a witch, eh? 'Ave yeh ever done something that yeh couldn't explain, something that happened when yeh was scared or angry?"

I thought about it. Well, I did manage to escape Dudley's gang by suddenly appearing on the roof of the school once, and I suppose I was the one to let the Boa Constrictor out by making the glass disappear. I also talked to the snake, so I guessed that was what made me a witch. I looked back up at his eyes, and smiled when I saw him beaming at me.

"See? Harley Potter, not a witch. An' you just wait, yeh'll be famous at Hogwarts," he said warmly.

Then I saw Uncle Vernon straighten up out of the corner of my eye. "Haven't I told you she's not going? She's going to Stonewall High and she'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish. Spell books and wands and-"

"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s daughter goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Her name's been down ever since she was born. She's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and she won't know herself. He'll be with youngsters of her own sort, fer a change, an' she'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-"

"I'M NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HER MAGIC TRICKS!" Shouted Uncle Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "INSULT, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. IN FRONT- OF- ME!"

I jumped as he pointed his umbrella at Dudley, and a flash of violet light and a noise like a firecracker sounded, as well as a pig-like squeal, and Dudley was bouncing around with his hand clasped over his bottom, but between his fingers was a curly pink pig's tail. Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid sighed, and put his umbrella back into his jacket. "Shouldn't 'ave lost me temper. But it didn't work anyways, I meant to turn 'im into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

He turned back and looked at me. "I'd be grateful if yeh didn' mention this to anyone at Hogwarts. I'm not strickly speaking suppose' to do magic strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff, one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" I asked him a bit bluntly.

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore," he replied, and I decided not to push as why, I thought it might've been a bit sensitive.

"Well, I suppose it's gettin late, an' we've got lots to do tomorrow, gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." He took off his coat and threw it to me. "Yeh can kip under tha' fer the night."

I gladly covered myself with it, and laid back down on the spot on the floor to fall asleep.

|HP|

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**Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed the past two chapters, and what is by far, the longest chapter of this story yet! Thanks for favoriting and following my story! I will try to answer questions from the reviews at the end of each chapter, or if I don't do that, I'll PM you the answer.**

**Reviews:**

**Oriande Moonshadow- **Yeah, I was thinking of how she'll bond with her fellow first year Gryffindors. Snape will most definitely have a heart attack, or something like that when he sees her.

**Jily- **No, this isn't a James bash fic. If anything, I'll bash a few characters in a future book, maybe not even then.

**To both Guests- **Yes, I will keep Snape's character in check and to his book persona, and to the other, I don't actually think she's gonna have that much better of a time than Canon!Harry

**Thank you, people who've commented on this story! It means a lot to me that I get your feedback to see how you guys are liking the story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the world that JKR has created, I'm just borrowing it for my own entertainment.**

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When I woke up, I couldn't tell where I was. I could feel the wood beneath me, but my mind kept on saying, "You're in the cupboard, you're in the cupboard." I tried to shake that off, but then I heard a tapping noise, and I was sure it was Aunt Petunia waking me up to get breakfast started.

I sat up, but it wasn't a thin blanket that fell off of me, but the large coat that Hagrid gave to to cover up with the night before. I heard the tap tap tapping again, and saw an owl with what looked like a newspaper in its beak. I was so happy that last night wasn't a dream, I bounced right up and opened the window to let the owl inside. It flew to Hagrid, and dropped the newspaper on his chest, then started to attack his coat.

"Hey! Stop that!" I said, but it ignored me. "Hagrid, the owl's attacking your coat!"

"Jus' need ter pay it. Money's in a pocket."

"Okay," I said as I rifled through his pockets. "I found it." I pulled a sack of strange looking coins out of one of the inside pockets.

"Giv' him five of the knuts, the little bronze ones."

I counted five of the bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg, which had a leather pouch on it. I dropped them into the bag, and it flew off through the window.

"Now, we best be off, Harley. Lot's ter do and lots ter buy, so it'll be best to get ter London as soon as we can," Hagrid said as he pulled on his boots.

I looked at the pouch of money still in my hand. "Um, I don't have any money though, Hagrid. And you heard my Uncle, they won't buy anything for me."

"Don't you worry abou' that now. D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" Hagrid replied, standing up and taking his coat.

"I didn't think about that. But where would they keep their money?" I asked. "Is there a bank for wizards, or do they keep it in their house?"

He chuckled. "Righ' you are fer thinking of a bank. The first stop we'll be taking is Gringotts, the Wizarding bank. It's run by Goblins, and there's no safer place than Gringotts, except Hogwarts, o'course. Yeh'd be mad to try an' rob Gringotts. Besides, I have'ta go there fer Dumbledore anyways. He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts, knows he can trust me, see. All set? Let's go then."

I followed him onto the rock, and I saw how beautiful the place was, with a shining sea and a blue sky. "How'd you get here, Hagrid? There's not another boat." I asked him.

"I flew, but I think we'd better take the boat now." We both settled down on the benches in the small boat. "Seems a shame ter row, though. Would yeh mind if I was ter speed it up a bit?"

I nodded, and he grinned and took out his pink umbrella, and tapped the boat, and it took off at a great speed. "Why would you be mad to rob Gringotts?" I asked.

"'Cause it's full o' spells an' enchantments. They say there's a dragon guarding the higher security vaults, an' it's also under London." He started to read the paper that had been delivered, and started mumbling. "Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," he said as he turned the page.

"Ministry of Magic? Is that like the wizarding government?" I asked.

"Yeah. They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

"But what's the Minister of Magic's job?" I asked.

"The Minister is supposed ter keep the peace and keep the Muggles from finding out there's still Witches and Wizards in the country."

I was silent for the rest of the boat ride, and we arrived at a train station in no time. Since he didn't really understand the Muggle money, I bought the tickets, and we boarded the next train for London.

"Still got yer letter, Harley? There's a list of school supplies in there that yeh'll need," he said as I took it out of my pocket.

I took out the extra piece of paper I didn't notice before, and unfolded it.

|HP|

_UNIFORM_

_First-year students will require:_

_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

_COURSE BOOKS_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_

_Wand _

_Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) _

_Set glass or crystal phials_

_Telescope set_

_Brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

|HP|

"Can we buy this all in London?" I asked him, reading the list again.

"If yeh know where ter look."

|HP|

We got off the train in London, and I followed him through the streets. Passing so many shops, I wondered where exactly one would go to get this stuff. There wasn't anything magical about London. I had to basically run to keep up with him, but finally, he stopped in front of a few buildings.

"We're here. Harley, The Leaky Cauldron. This place's famous." Hagrid said as he walked towards the door. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if Hagrid hadn't pointed it out for me.

I stepped through the door, and the first impression wasn't really the greatest. For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when we walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid, because they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Not today, Tom, I'm on official Hogwarts business," he replied.

The barkeeper, Tom, gasped, and leaned closer. "Good Lord, is that-could this be." I felt uncomfortable with all of the people staring at me, noticing that the rest of the place had gone silent. "Bless my soul, it's an honor, Harley Potter."

Suddenly, everyone in the Leaky Cauldron came up to me and started to shake my hands. It was overwhelming, and I didn't take in much of what they were saying, but I did take in their faces. Suddenly, a man who looked kinda young stepped in front of me, looking very nervous.

"Professor Quirrell! Harley, this is Professor Quirrell, he'll be one of your teachers at Hogwarts this year," Hagrid greeted him.

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping my hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."

Something about him made me feel off, so I took my hand away, and asked him, "What do you teach at Hogwarts?"

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts, n-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself."

He left, but the rest of the place still wanted to meet me, apparently. I looked at Hagrid, and he did his best to get me through the crowd. About five minutes later, we were finally out of the building, and in the back, next to a brick wall.

"That was exhausting. If everyone I meet is going to react like that, then I'm not sure if I'm ready to handle being a Witch," I said.

"Well, once the thought of yeh comes an' goes aroun' their heads, they'll leave yeh alone. I told yeh you was famous, though, didn't I? Now, let's get to Gringotts."

He brought out his umbrella, and tapped several bricks on the wall. "Now, stand back," he said, taking a step back. I did so, and watched as the bricks shifted around to make a large doorway, into a wide ally.

"Welcome to Diagon Ally, Harley."

|HP|

I looked around, and saw so many things. The closest shop seemed to sell cauldrons, but there were many different types that were surrounded by people. As we walked through, I saw shops that had a variety of strange things I've never seen. One sold owls, but another had animals of all varieties. There was a place that had a bunch of boys around the display window, gawking over what seemed to be a new model of broom.

We continued on our way, until Hagrid stopped, and said, "Gringotts." I looked up, and saw a white building that was very large. Standing next to the doors, what what I assumed to be a goblin, and Hagrid confirmed that by muttering, "Yeah, that's a goblin." He opened the doors, and I noticed an inscription on a pair of silver doors on the inside.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

I understood now of what Hagrid meant by why you'd be mad to rob the bank. We walked through the doors, and Hagrid led me to a taller bench towards the back of the bank, from what I could see. There were many goblins, doing all sorts of things with money or gems.

We approached the goblin sitting in the chair behind the counter, and Hagrid cleared his throat, and said, "Morning, we've come ter take some money outta Ms. Harley Potter's safe."

"And do you have her key?" The gobin asked, not looking up from the paperwork under his nose.

"It's right here," Hagrid said as he began to rummage through his pockets, and finally pulling out a small, golden key.

"Everything seems to be in order then."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

He handed the letter to the goblin, who read it carefully. "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" He shouted, and another goblin ran up to them.

We followed the goblin to a door, and he opened it for us. I was surprised to see a darker hallway instead of more marble. We walked down the hall, and I noticed some strange tracks that looked like tracks for a train. Griphook whistled, and a cart came down on the track.

He got in, and me and Hagrid did the same, and the cart was off. It made me feel like I was on a roller coaster, although I'd never been on one before. I didn't really like it. There were so many twists and turns, and I didn't know where we were going.

After around seven minutes, we finally stopped and got out of the cart. Griphook took out the key to what appeared to be my vault, and opened it. I was in shock when I saw how much was in there. Heaps of gold, silver, and bronze coins were all over the place, as well as some furniture and some other random things.

Hagrid gave me a leather pouch, and I filled it was much as I could with a variety of the coins, then we had to get back into the cart. Instead of going back to the top, we went farther down the track. The air around us got colder, and there was a ridge and trench beneath us. Then we came to a stop, and I saw that the vault had no keyhole.

"Vault Seven hundred thirteen. Stand back," Griphook said as he opened the vault by dragging a long finger vertical to the door. I stayed in the cart while Hagrid grabbed a mysterious object from the vault.

After another wild cart ride, we were finally back in the sunlight, above ground. We walked down the steps and into the street again.

"Might as well get yer uniform. Listen, Harley, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts," he asked me, nodding towards the shop labeled Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Sure, Hagrid. I'll try to find my own way around here for a little while," I replied, and then I walked though the shop's doors.

|HP|

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**I have a poll up for this story, please go and vote! You can find it on my profile page**

**REVIEWS:**

**Oriande Moonshadow- **You'll find out in the next chapter, when she actually gets to see Diagon Ally when she's shopping. First encounters often shape the way you think of someone. ;)

**Guest- **For the review(s) made by Guest, I had to use google translate, but no, Harley Potter will not be in Slytherin House, and I'm planning some interesting things for Snape, which will have some very mixed reactions.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I think I'm going to be posting new chapters on either Tuesdays or Thursdays, it depends on when I get a chapter done. So if there's a Tuesday I don't post, then expect one on Thursday, and vice versa. Or maybe I'll give you guys two chapters in a week.**

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When I entered the shop, I noticed the many different racks hanging. There were different colored robes, hats, and various clothing items. A squat witch in mauve appeared in front of me. "Hogwarts, dear?" she asked. I nodded and she continued. "Follow me, we have a young man being fitted for his robes now, and I'll take your measurements."

I followed her into the room where a younger witch was pinning a black robe on a boy about my age, who looked very pale. Madam Malkin put up a stool in front of the mirror next to the boy, and threw a black robe over my head and started pinning it to fit.

"Hello, miss. Are you going to Hogwarts as well?" the boy asked.

"Um, yeah. What's your name?" I asked.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. If you didn't know that, then you must be at least a Half blood. I'm a Pureblood wizard, like all my family, and you?"

I stared at his reflection in the mirror in front of me. "I'm not sure. I don't know my parents, they died when I was little."

"So you were raised by Muggles?" he asked, a snobbish tone coming into his voice.

"Yeah, my aunt and uncle. A lot of people seem to know me though, despite only just figuring out I'm a witch."

"Why would they…" he trailed off as he looked sideways at me, then gasped. "You're Harley Potter!"

I just looked at his reflection again. "Yeah, so it seems. Nice to meet you Draco."

"Why were you raised by Muggles, then? From what I know about the war and your parents roles, many people were more than happy to take you in."

"I don't know. All I know about my parents is what Hagrid told me, but that was just how they died. I didn't even know about magic until last night."

"So you don't know anything? Not even Quidditch?" He asked, sounding astounded that I didn't.

"No, is that a sport?" I asked.

"Yes, it is. It's played on broomsticks, with three types of balls for the game. I'm hoping to play for my House team in second year," he replied.

"Well, you're done dear." Madam Malkin took the robe off of me, and I hopped off of the stool.

"Maybe I'll see you at Hogwarts, Draco. Bye."

I walked to the front of the store with Madam Malkin, and she told me that the robes would be ready in a day or two for pick up. I walked out of the store, and saw Hagrid, with two ice cream cones.

""Hello Hagrid," I said, and I took the ice cream that he handed to me, which was chocolate raspberry and chopped nuts, which I think were pecans or walnuts, or perhaps both. "Where'd you get the ice cream?" I asked.

"Florean Fortescue's," he replied. "Let's get yer things."

I finished the cone, and it was delicious. I made a mental note to visit that place when I got my robes. We got some parchment and quills, and I found a type of ink that changed colors when you wrote, so I got that as well.

When we exited the store, I asked him, "Hagrid? What's Quidditch?"

"It's the Wizarding Sport. It's much like, um, soccer, in the Muggle world, and ev'ry one follows it. Played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls, sorta hard ter explain the rules. When yer at school, yeh can play on yer House Team after firs' year."

"Okay, and what are the houses?"

"There are four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw."

We continued with that topic on the way to Flourish and Blotts to buy my school books. I got the ones on the list, but I also found a book about Quidditch, so I got that as well. The walls inside of Flourish and Blotts had stacks and stacks of books of all kinds. Leather bound, newer versions, old books with tears in the covers. There were a lot of other books as well, for curses and cooking.

We also got a cauldron, scales, and we went to the Apothecary to get some basic Potion ingredients. I looked at my list, and saw what I still needed. "I still need a wand, and I would like to get a pet."

"Well, Ollivander's is the place fer the wand, an' I haven't gotten yeh a birthday present yet," Hagrid said.

"You don't have to-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I know I don' have teh, but I want teh. So come on, I think yeh'd like an owl best, dead useful."

So we went into Eeylops Owl Emporium, and looked at all of the birds. There were so many, but one in particular caught my eye. A beautiful snowy, with large eyes like amber orbs. Hagrid noticed me staring at her, and that was the one I walked out with.

"Thank you so much!" I kept on saying, stuttering like Professor Quirrell.

"It's no problem. Don' expect that yeh've gotten many presents from the Dursleys. Now, all yeh have to get is yer wand."

We walked towards the store, and I noticed that the peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

We walked towards the store, and I noticed that the peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

We walked through the door, and I handed my owl's cage to Hagrid. I felt magic tingling at the base of my neck, and I felt like somehow, I was trespassing on it.

"Good morning," a soft voice said, in front of me. I jumped, and looked at him. An old man was standing before us, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello." I replied.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon, Harley Potter." It wasn't a question. "You look so much like your mother. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

He came closer to me, and touched the scar on my forehead with a finger. "I'm sorry to say that the wand that gave you that, was one of mine. Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands...well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do."

"Well, I'm here to get my own wand," I interrupted him.

"Ah, yes. Of course." He pulled out a measuring tape. "Which arm is your wand arm?"

"Right hand." I replied.

He did all sorts of measurements, and spoke about the cores of the wands.

"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

The measuring tape was left alone as Ollivander grabbed a box off of one of the shelves. "That's enough," he said, and the measuring tape fell to the floor. "Try this one, Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."

He handed me a wand, and I felt kind of foolish waving it, but he snatched it out of my hand, and gave me another. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy, try-" He cut himself off as I took the wand, but then he took it back. I tried several more wands, and half an hour later I still didn't have the right match.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere. I wonder, now-yes, why not-unusual combination though. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple," he supplied me with a beautifully crafted wand, and I took it.

Immediately, I felt warmth in my fingers. I raised it, and swished it around, causing sparks of light to appear like fireworks.

"Curious, curious." He murmured as he took the wand and placed it back into its box and wrapped it.

"What's curious, sir?" I asked.

""I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar. Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Ms. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things-terrible, yes, but great."

Not feeling too good after that, I took the wand and paid seven Galleons for it. We left Diagon Alley, and waited for the train back to the Dursleys house. People stared at us, me with several odd packages and Hagrid, who was holding my owl, on the platform

"Hagrid?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Everyone thinks I'm special. Everyone I've met knows who I am and I can't help but think, how do they expect me to do great things? I mean, I'm famous for surviving my parents murder, and I can't even remember it."

He smiled down at me warmly. "Don' you worry abou' it, Harley. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts-I did-still do, 'smatter of fact." He handed me an envelope. "Yer train ticket fer the Hogwart's Express. First o' September-King's Cross, it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me. See yeh soon, Harley."

"Okay Hagrid, bye." I took my owl, and got onto the train that had just arrived, and sat down, waiting for it to start up, and dreading the month I still had to spend with the Dursleys.

|HP|

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**I have a poll up for this story, please go and vote! You can find it on my profile page. Thank you guys so much for reading and commenting on my story, and following/favoriting it as well! Please leave a review! And I am planning to at least have a kinda friendship with Draco. And I will write down any other men you vote for, but they won't go into the vote because I kinda just don't want to.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Oriande Moonshadow- **Yeah, it's a bit confusing. But yes, she will be a bit closer to the females in her dorm.


	6. Chapter 6

The only good thing about going back to the Dursleys was that they were afraid of me, so I didn't have to do any chores, and I could get as much stuff in my brain as possible. They ignored me, even more than usual. I also got to know my owl, and name her. After looking through A History of Magic, I found a name that suited her.

"Hello, Hedwig." She flapped down from her perch on the dresser to my bed, landing on my knees. I stroked her feathers, and she looked at me with large eyes. She flew out of the window a second later, to go hunt.

It was the day day before I had to leave on the train, so I decided to ask Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon if they could drop me off. I went downstairs to the living room, where they were watching a game show. As soon as I entered the room and cleared my throat, Dudley ran out screaming.

"Um, Uncle Vernon?" I started. A grunt. "I was wondering, if you could drop me off at King's Cross Station? That's where the train's leaving from tomorrow." He grunted again, so I took that as a yes.

I was almost at the stairs when he actually spoke. "Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they? Where is this school, anyways?"

"I don't know, it just leaves at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning from platform nine and three quarters," I said, realizing that nothing in the books said anything about the location. Or maybe I just didn't look in the right spots.

"Platform what?" They both asked, now looking at me.

"Platform nine and three quarters. It's on my ticket."

"They're howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

_It mustn't be visible to Muggles_, I thought. "Why are you going to London?" I asked.

"We're going to the hospital, because we need to get that ruddy tail off of Dudley before he goes to Smeltings."

I went to bed after that, saying goodnight to Hedwig before she flew off again. I couldn't wait until the morning.

|HP|

I woke up the next morning at around five thirty. I couldn't go back to bed I was so excited. I noticed that the window was shut, so I opened it to let Hedwig back inside when she came back. I got dressed and braided my hair again. I took out my robes and other clothes, and set them on the bed so I could rearrange my trunk. I took the books, and packed them on one half of the trunk, and the clothes on the other side, along with the other things I needed. I put the ink and quills in their own spot so nothing leaked.

I went over a few notes I had, and packed the rest of my things. I still had hours to kill before the Dursley's would be up, so I read the Quidditch book I got, looking at the rules and teams. I looked at the clock on my nightstand, seven. I packed the books I got out. I wondered what house I would be in, and who would be my friends.

Around an hour later, they were finally up, and Hedwig was in her cage. My trunk was loaded in the trunk of the car, and we were off to London. When we finally reached King's Cross Station, I got a bit suspicious when Uncle Vernon loaded my trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for me. He stopped, and took a look around. "Well, there you are, girl. Platform nine, platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" Sure enough, I looked for a sign that had my platform number on it, but couldn't. "Well, have a nice term." He left me there with an evil grin on his face.

I wasn't sure what to do, the platform wasn't there. I wondered whether or not I should ask someone, but I wasn't sure where exactly I was going. I stood around for a little while, until I noticed a voice sort of behind me, saying, "Packed with Muggles, of course." I turned around, and saw a woman with at least five kids with flaming red hair walk past. They had carts like mine, and _owls_.

"Now, what's the platform number?" she asked, and a small girl next to her answered.

"Nine and three quarters, mum! Oh, can't I go?" She also had red hair, and looked to be around nine.

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." As I approached, a boy who must've been Percy started to run towards the brick wall between Platforms nine and ten. I tried to watch, but a group of people walked in front of me.

"Fred, you next," The woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry George, dear!"

"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone, but how had he done it? There was only one boy left with a cart, so I thought I'd better move and ask, so I rolled by cart up to the woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I started.

She turned around and saw me. "Oh, hello dear. First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Yes, I was wondering how to get onto the platform. Could you tell me?"

"Of course, dear," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

I took a deep breath, and turned my cart towards the wall. I got it started at a running pace, and right before I hit the wall, I passed through it. I could see a scarlet steam engine next to a sign that had the platform number, nine and three quarters. Excitedly, I did what I saw others doing, and got onto the train. A lot of the compartments were full, so I found one that was empty, and put Hedwig's cage in it. I also tried to get my trunk in the storage compartment above, but it was a bit too heavy for me.

"Want a hand?" A voice said from behind me. I turned, and found the redheaded twins that went through the wall before me.

"Yes please," I said, standing back to give them room to lift it.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" Fred came, and together the two boys helped to lift my trunk onto the storage rack.

"Thanks," I said, brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

"No problem, what's that on your head?" one of them asked suddenly, staring at my forehead.

"Blimey," said the other. "Are you-"

"She is, aren't you?" they kept on talking in turn like they were possessed.

"If you mean to ask me if my name is Harley Potter, then yes, I am her," I replied. Even though the switching gave me a bit of whiplash, the twins were cool, even if they were staring.

"Fred? George? Are you there?" I heard a woman's voice ask.

"Yeah, coming mum!" They nodded a farewell to me, and then left the compartment and off of the train. I sat next to the window so I could watch what was going on.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose," the woman said.

"Mom! Geroff!" The boy, Ron, said. He escaped her grasp, and gave her a mean look.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" Asked one of the twins. I would have to learn their names.

I kept watching as an older brother came along. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and I noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of

great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the

other twin. "Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now, you two-this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've-you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train!" I leaned back when I heard this. "You know the redhead you helped onto the platform? Know who she is?"

"Harley Potter!" Said the other twin. By now, I could hear a different tone in their voices.

""Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see her, Mom, eh please..."

"You've already seen her, Ginny, and the poor girl isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is she really, Fred? How do you know?"

"I asked her myself, and we saw her scar, it's really like lightning!"

"Poor dear, no wonder she was alone, I wondered. She was ever so polite when she asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think she remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask her, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though she needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on." I heard a whistle, and suddenly people were in a greater rush to get onto the train, so I guess we'd be leaving soon.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom!"

The train jerked, and started to move forwards at an increasing speed. I looked out the window, and saw the young girl running and waving until we rounded a corner, blocking the view of the platform. I was on my way to Hogwarts, and I was going to escape the torture that were the Dursleys, for at least this semester.

|HP|

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**Hey everyone! I am on vacation for around the next month. I will not be able to access my computer often, so I will not be posting any new chapters very often. I will however, be writing on a doc. Please review/like/follow for more info and to keep reading along with Harley's story! Also, please go vote on my poll for whom I should put Harley in a relationship with! Current standings are Draco and Neville tied in first with 2 votes, and with one vote, Dean is in second, tied with a choice from a reader, Victor Krum. The Poll can be located on my profile, so check that out. Sorry for the wait.**


	7. Chapter 7

I looked around the compartment, and started to think about how I would do in school. I was always punished for doing too well in primary. Well, doing better than Dudley in school. They didn't care about my grades in any other way than that. I thought about how well I could do here, give all my effort into schoolwork, and not have any repercussions.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a rattle of the compartment door opening. I looked to it, and the twins who had helped me earlier appeared. "Hello Harley, just wanted to make sure you settled in alright, and-"

"Introduce ourselves." One of the twins started, and the other finished.

"I'm Fred, and-"

"I'm George Weasley." I took a minute to look each of them over, trying to get at least one difference between them. It took a second, but I could tell that the once who said his name was Fred had a darker shade of red hair than George, and I could also tell there was a tiny difference in height, with George being a tad taller than his brother.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harley Potter, but I guess you already knew that."

"Yeah, we did-"

"But what we don't know is-"

"What your-"

"Favorite-"

"Quidditch team is." The twins spoke back and forth to get the question through.

"Oh, I don't know yet. I've only known about magic and Quidditch for a month, and I don't know the teams, nor do I know how well each one is. I do want to see a game though, if only between the houses at Hogwarts."

"You've only known about it for a month?" George asked, giving his twin a bewildered look.

"Yeah, about. I learned about it the same day I learned I was a witch. I've been living with my mum's sister and her family, but they're Muggles."

"So, you live with Muggles?" Fred asked me, giving his brother a sly look.

"By chance," George said, "do you know-"

"The function-"

"Of a rubber duck?"

I raised an eyebrow at them. "Our dad's obsessed with Muggle stuff, and he's always wondering what things mean."

"If you want to know, it's a bath toy," I told them. "It's usually yellow and duck shaped, but different companies have different themed ducks."

"Interesting," said Fred.

"Simply enlightening," agreed George.

"Do you have any more questions?" I inquired with a grin.

"Very many."

"Too many to ask standing in a hall."

"Is there any chance we could come sit?"

"Sure."

We spent the entire ride talking about Muggle appliances, Quidditch, and jokes. Well, until the trolley lady came down the hall, and opened the door to the compartment.

"Hello dears, anything from the trolley?" she asked.

The twins suddenly got a bit quieter, and shook their heads. I, however, said yes, and got up to choose something from the cart. I was hoping for something familiar, but I didn't see anything that looked familiar. All of the candies looked magical.

There were sugar quills, chocolate frogs, licorice wands, and many more. I grabbed a few of everything I could, and took out the correct amount of money. I sat back down in the compartment, and put the sweets on the seat between me and Hedwig.

"You wanna share? I got enough for the three of us," I said. "I'm not even familiar with any of this stuff."

"Surely you've heard of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" George asked, taking one of the sugar quills.

I shook my head. "No, but we do have jelly beans, which are similar, I think." I took a pack of chocolate cauldrons and took a bite out of the chocolate covered cake.

We ate nearly all the sweets, and then I got to the chocolate frogs.

"It's not a real frog, right?" I asked them, turning the package in my hands.

"Naw, it's just an enchantment," answered George.

"There are collectible cards in each pack, so you can get a collection pretty fast if you get a lot of them." Fred took a box of beans, and popped a red one into his mouth. "Cinnamon, luckily. Could've gotten a grosser flavor."

I opened the box, and I saw a solid chocolate frog moving in the case. It jumped, but was caught mid jump by Fred, who was by the window. "You need to be more careful with these. They jump around like the real thing." He handed it back to me, and thinking about how to eat it, I just bit off its head, and it stopped moving. It tasted silky, the chocolate just melted softly in my mouth. I swallowed, and took a bite from the legs, and took a look strew card in the box.

I looked at the card, and the title on it was Albus Dumbledore. I looked at the picture, or showed an image of a man with half moon glasses in front of icy blue eyes, and a long white beard, and I read the text under his name.

_ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS_

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is_

_particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in_

_1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his_

_work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore_

_enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling._

"I got Dumbledore," I said.

"He's a good start to a collection, although our youngest brother has like twelve of them. He's the most popular of the cards," George said.

I finished the frog, when the door opened once more, and the boy I met in the robes shop appeared, Draco Malfoy, along with two other boys behind him.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He said, looking at me and the twins. "I see two Weasleys, sitting with a pile of candy. Either you bought it with the pitiful funds your poor family gave you, or you somehow got Miss Potter here to get you sweets."

I looked at him weirdly. He had been so nice at the shop, why was he being so rude? "Well, at least we have a family who loves us, a large one at that," the twins said in unison.

Draco didn't flinch at that. "There's been word going around that Harley was in this compartment, and I saw fit to introduce her to some of the right kind of people. I would like to introduce Crabbe and Goyle, the two oafs behind me, and Blawho are all Purebloods that you should familiarize with, if you want to be with the right people," he said. "That's a beautiful owl," he continued, putting his fingers in to pat her.

"Her name is Hedwig, and I wouldn't do that, she bites people who make me mad," I replied. I saw something white fall from his fingers, but I couldn't get a closer look because Hedwig shifted her feathers.

He took his fingers out of the cage before she could peck at him, and stepped out of the compartment. "Well, I have made my statement, owl me if you change your mind about being with the right people." With that, they left.

"Well, he's not the nicest boy ever," I stated, opening another chocolate frog.

Opening the package, I wasn't paying attention to which way it was going, and the frog inside took a huge leap right into my face!

Knocking into my nose, I heard the familiar crack of my glasses frames breaking. "Oh no! Not again," I said, holding the two pieces of my glasses in front of my face. I heard the door open, and saw a fuzzy figure step in. "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy called Neville's lost one." She looked around.

"No, sorry. We'll keep a lookout for it, though," I replied.

"Do you need help with your glasses? I saw a repairing charm in our textbooks."

"Oh, yes please. They've been broken a lot recently, it would be nice to not have tape poking me in the head," I replied.

She came into the compartment, and I grabbed the dazed chocolate frog and put it into its tin. She pulled out her wand, and waved it and said "Oculus Reparo."

My glasses clicked back together, and any sign of cracks in the frame were gone. "Thanks, um," I said.

"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you Hermione. I'm Harley, Harley Potter, and these boys are Fred and George Weasley."

"Harley Potter? I've heard of you! You're in some books I've read to learn about Magic."

"Really? I didn't know."

"Yes, well, I was looking up at the conductor's compartment of the train, and he said that we'd be arriving at the platform soon, so I'd advise getting into your robes." She looked at the twins as she said that, and left.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you Harley, but we'd better go now. We promised a friend that we'd check out a spider he brought." With that, they left me alone to dress in my robes. I was happy that they had done that though, and I saw a lock on the door and pulled the window shade down for privacy.

I couldn't wait until we got to Hogwarts.

|HP|

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**I've just gotten back from my vacay, and it was amazing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Current standings on the poll are: 1st, Draco(3), 2nd(tie), Neville and Krum(2), and 3rd(tie), Dean and George(1) thank you for the votes, and if you haven't yet, please go over to my profile page and vote so I can know your thoughts, or comment them in the reviews! Please favorite, follow, and review my story! **


	8. Chapter 8

I looked out of the window when I had gotten into my robes and had unlocked the door. I could see beautiful mountains surrounded by forests, and the sky was turning a beautiful shade of purple.

I got really excited, and it was finally dawning on me that I wasn't going to a horrible school my relatives wanted me to go to, but the one my parents went to when they were my age. I could tell that the train was close to stopping, and put the remaining sweets in my trunk.

"This is it, Hedwig, I'm going to Hogwarts!" She softly hooted back to me, her large eyes shining.

At last, the train stopped, and I heard the commotion of kids rushing to the platform and off of the train. "I'll see you in the door, Hedwig." With the last words to her, I exited my compartment and went with the flow of people to get off of the train.

As soon as I did, I heard a familiar voice shouting over the noise of the crowd, "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" I turned around until I could see the source of the yelling, and took a step forward, but stepped on something squishy, and didn't put my foot all the way down.

"Oh! You must be the lost toad!" I picked him up, and walked towards Hagrid.

"All righ,' Harley? Any more firs' years? No? Come on, then!" A large group followed him, and he led us to a path leading through a bunch of trees.

Still holding the toad, I asked around until I found its owner, a boy named Neville. "Hey," I said, getting his attention. "Is this your toad?" His eyes brightened as I held it up.

"Trevor! Thanks for giving him back to me! I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom." He took the toad back, and stroked his head.

"I'm Harley, Harley Potter. And it's no problem, he would've been stepped on most likely, it's how I found him, by almost stepping on him." I replied.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Harley. And thanks for not stepping on him." We laughed, and talked until we heard Hagrid say something.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

"Woah," I murmured. I looked around, and saw that there was a large castle, surrounded by a large black lake and forest. The castle was lit up with flickering lights that must've been candles and lanterns.

"No mor' than four ter a boat!" Hagrid shouted. I climbed into a boat with the girl I met on the train, Hermione, Neville, and a redheaded boy who was with the twins I talked to. "An' forward!"

With that command, the boats rushed forwards, and my messy braided hair blew around my face with the air rushing around us. In no time, we were at a dock, and we all followed Hagrid out of the boats and when we reached the large oak doors, he knocked.

As soon as his fist pounded the doors three times, it was opened by a tall witch in emerald green robes, her black hair in a bun. She looked at all of us, then at Hagrid.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She opened the doors wider, and I could see a huge hall made of stone, with a large staircase leading to upper levels. It's ceiling was too high up to even see. We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor, and I could hear the drone of hundreds of voices coming from behind the doorway we had stopped at.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

I looked around, and saw the others trying to flatten out their hair, straighten ties, and I nervously tried to look at how messy my braid was, hoping it wasn't too messy. I also wondered how we would be sorted.

I jumped when I heard a scream, and turned around to see ghosts floating through the floor and walls. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost-I say, what are you all doing here?"

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" I nodded along with several other people, staring at the ghosts in awe. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff, my old house you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." I turned, and saw that Professor McGonagall had returned. "Now, form a line, and follow me."

We all obeyed the order, and she led us into the Hall. I had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led us up there, so that we came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind us. The hundreds of faces staring at us looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, I looked up and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars that made up constellations.

"Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History," I heard the girl next to me, Hermoine, whisper, mainly to herself.

I quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

Everyone seemed to be looking at it, I stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing,

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. So we just have to try on the hat! That's pretty simple enough, I thought.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

She and the girl after her became Hufflepuff, there was a Ravenclaw, and then a new Slytherin. I lost count, but Hermione became a Gryffindor, after the boy named Seamus got sorted there, too. I got worried about which one I would be sorted into. I was sure about not wanting Slytherin, even if they didn't seem all that bad. But I saw after one new Slytherin sorted, only their house cheered, and that didn't seem very fair.

Neville got into Gryffindor, and I saw two new Slytherins get sorted to confirm that the students didn't really like that house. Then was Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin as he wanted to be, and then several other people before me.

"Potter, Harley!" I heard the Professor call my name, and then kids started to whisper as I walked up to the stool and hat. I sat on the stool, and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head, although it was large and slipped over my eyes.

"Hmm," said a small voice in my ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting...So where shall I put you?"

_Not Slytherin, not Slytherin,_ I thought furiously to the hat. "Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that, no? Well, if you're sure, better be GRYFFINDOR!"

The last part was shouted to the crowd, and I saw the Gryffindor table cheering wildly, and I sat down after shaking Percy Weasley's hand, and laughed as the twins were shouting, "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!" I sat next to the twins, with Hermione in front of me.

I looked at the table, and Hagrid looked at me with a proud smile, and I smiled back. Then I looked at the middle of the High Table, and in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. I could recognize him from his Chocolate Frog card. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. I also spotted Professor Quirell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron, and he was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.

Then, only a few people left were sorted, and that included a new Ravenclaw, a boy who joined us at the Gryffindor table named Dean Thomas, and then finally Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, and sat next to me at the table, and the last person was a Slytherin.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered, but I didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Percy, is he a bit mad?" I asked the Prefect next to me.

"Mad? He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harley?"

"What? Oh, yes, thanks," I said as I noticed that the room had filled with the delicious scent of food, and the tables were now laden with a large feast. It was the most food I'd ever seen. There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

I piled my plate with roast beef, bacon, roast potatoes and gravy, and some Yorkshire puddings. I was hungry, sure. Malnourished? Most likely, it wasn't not a possibility given my situation with the Dursleys. This was the first time I could remember where I could eat as much food as I liked, but I didn't overdo it, because it was a lot of food, and I didn't want to overload my body with more than it could handle.

I noticed the ghost across from me was staring at me as I cut my steak. "That does look good," he said.

"So you can't eat?"

"No, I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," he said with a sigh. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know you! You're Nearly Headless Nick! My brothers told me about you!" shouted Ron.

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-" the ghost started, but was cut off by Seamus

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Looking annoyed, Sir Nicholas reached for his left ear, pulling on it after he said "Like this." His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on our faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So, new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable, he's the Slytherin ghost."

I then looked over my shoulder to the Slytherin Table, and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Draco, who didn't look very pleased with that.

I spaced out at what was said next, but a half hour later, the plates emptied themselves, leaving shining platters behind. Then, they all filled back up with desserts, many more than I'd ever seen before. There were blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding, and sweet pastries I didn't know about.

I grabbed some treacle tart, a small dish of chocolate trifle, and some sweet Yorkshire puddings while the conversation switched topics to family.

Seamus was speaking, and said, "I'm half-and-half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

Then Ron asked Neville, and he started to talk about his family. "I was brought up by my gran, but the family thought I was all...Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me, he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned, but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here, they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

So that's why he has a toad, I thought as I looked around. Hermione and Percy were talking about classes, and the other students were chatting to themselves. I looked at the High Table, with Hagrid drinking from a large goblet, Professor McGonnagal was talking to Professor Dumbledor, and Professor Quirrell was talking to a man with greasy black hair, sallow skin, and a hooked nose.

He looked past the purple turban, and right into my eyes. He mouthed something I couldn't read, and he looked away. But as soon as he looked at me, my forehead started to sting and pound at the same time. I ground my teeth, and looked back at my plate, then to Percy.

"Um, Percy? Who's that talking to Professor Quirrel?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, that's Professor Snape, the Potions Master here, teaches it as well, though he didn't want to. Everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

"Thanks," I replied, then started picking at my food, and looked back at him, and wondered why he had mouthed something to me.

When the desserts were gone, Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands to silence the hall. "Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First, the First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." I looked at him with a blank face, trying to tell or not if he was serious.

I have chosen not to tell about the school song, because it was not a very pleasurable experience because of all the different tunes. It was most definitely head-ache inducing.

Percy led us through the corridors, the great marble staircase, and many talking portraits. They moved amongst the other frames, and whispered to the others. There were many stairs, and my legs felt like dragging lead poles behind me. Then a weird sight was in front of us. At least a dozen walking sticks were floating in front of us, but when Percy stepped forwards, they all started to move towards him.

"It's Peeves, the resident Poltergeist," he whispered. "Peeves, show yourself!" Peeves blew a raspberry. "Do you want me to get the Bloody Baron?"

He then caused more mischief, but eventually flew off. "You'll want to watch out for Peeves, The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." We had finally stopped at a large portrait of a large woman in a silk dress.

"Password?" She asked.

"Caput Draconis." The portrait swung open, and we all found ourselves in a large room, the Gryffindor Common room.

The boys went up one staircase, while the girls went up the other. I followed the rest of the girls to our year's room. The large room had four four-poster beds with large, red velvet curtains. Our trunks were already brought up, so we all changed into pajamas.

The other girls were keen on talking to each other and getting to know them, so I joined in that night. We all sat on the floor next to the little fireplace that kept the room warm, and talked.

"So, let's introduce ourselves first, because we're going to be together for the next several years. I'm Lavender, Lavender Brown."

"I'm Parvati Patil."

"Hermione Granger."

"I'm Harley Potter."

"So, we have Harley Potter! It's so nice to meet you guys," Lavender said. "Okay, now, we should share something about our favorite things, or our family or something. I think family would be a good starter. I live with my parents, both magical, and I have a sibling on the way. You go next, Parvati."

I listened as the other girls talked about their home life, Parvati being a twin to Padma Patil of Ravenclaw, Hermione being a Muggle-born and living with her dentist parents.

When it was my turn, I took a breath. "Um, you all probably know that I never knew my parents because they died, but I was raised by my mum's sister and her husband and son. I never knew I was a witch until I got to read my letter."

"Until the letter? But if your aunt was raised with you mother, then she should've known about magic. Why didn't she tell you?" Parvati asked.

"Um, she said she wouldn't tolerate it, and she and my uncle tried to stamp it out of me. They never told me what I was, so I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I did have fits of magic when I was younger, though I didn't know what they meant. I somehow got onto the roof of the school when the school bullies, my cousin and his friends, were chasing me. I accidentally let a snake out of its habitat in the zoo, which it thanked me for, I guess. I had talked to it when no one was looking."

They all stared at me. "What?"

"First off, your family sounds awful. Second, why didn't you tell anyone if you were being abused like that? Third, you talked to the snake?"

"I was labeled as a troubled kid, so no one really talked to me, or would listen even if I did ask. And yes, I talked to the snake, it listened and replied. I thought it was just something that happened to everyone, why?"

Parvati and Lavender looked at each other, then back to me. "It's just that you might be a Parseltongue, and that's viewed as dark magic." I looked at them worriedly. "Don't worry, it's not really. It's passed down from parents, most likely a dormant gene from your dad," Parvati said after Lavender.

"So, you won't tell?" I asked.

"No, we'll stick together. Besides, who else would protect you from the boys of the school later on? They'll be both drawn and intimidated by you because of who you are, so we'll watch the other's back," Hermione said, the other girls nodded in agreement.

"So, how about we bond some more tomorrow? We have classes tomorrow."

We all agreed, and I saw that Hedwig had appeared on the other side of the window, so I let her in quickly. She sat down on my trunk, and showed me the piece of paper that Draco had left her. "Thanks," I whispered, then put it in a book I had brought from home, thinking of reading it tomorrow. Laying down, I drifted off to sleep in no time, although I didn't remember any dreams I had that night.

|HP|

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**Thank you for reading this chapter, and for voting on my poll. If you haven't yet, please go do that, or comment your choice here. The standings are Draco in first with 4 votes, Neville in second with 3, George is tied for third with Victor Krum, who was a voter's choice, with 2, and Dean has one. These are just the ones with votes, there are other options. Sorry I've been gone for so long, but I've not had access to the computer for a while, but it is the longest chapter I've written.**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER. HP and his world belong to the writer JK Rowling, I'm just using her characters to tell my own story.**

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I woke up at around seven thirty, thanks to an alarm clock that Hermione had brought. The routine was normal, wake up, brush hair and teeth, get dressed, and wait for the others. Remembering the note when opening my book, I figured that I would read it tonight before sleeping.

We walked together to the Great Hall for breakfast for the next week. On the way there, I was thankful for the girls, who helped shield me from the stares of the other students still not used to me. We sat next to each other while we talked and ate each day. The table usually had french toast, eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and other breakfast items.

On Friday morning, the mail came in on time, but I wasn't expecting anything. Hedwig still flew down to me though, but this time I saw she had something in her beak. Taking it and giving her a piece of bacon, I opened my first letter since getting here. In an untidy scrawl, it read,

Dear Harley,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

I pulled a quill from my satchel, and wrote on the back of it.

Yes, I will be there at around three, thanks! I sent it off with Hedwig, and she took off.

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, Hagrid invited me over for tea. What do we have today, I forgot what was first," I asked Hermione, knowing that she would have memorised it already.

"Today we have double Potions with Slytherin in the dungeons."

"Professor Snape's their Head of House, so he'll favor them a lot," Seamus said from near us.

"Yeah, the twins say he's the worst teacher here, second to Quirrell this year," Ron Weasly said from in front of us.

I frowned. I had a feeling that Snape didn't like me much at the feast, but wasn't sure why. He looked almost surprised at the Welcoming Feast, like he thought I was someone else. But he seemed like he most definitely didn't like me.

After breakfast, we all hurried to the Potion's room in the Dungeons. It was a cold room filled with shelves of different potion ingredients. The desks were set into groups, two tables next to each other. I tried to get a seat by the girls, but they were in groups of four around a table, and I was girl number five. I sat down at a table with Dean, Seamus, and Neville, which left Ron to a table with a group of Slytherins.

Then the classroom door slammed shut, and we all turned to see Professor Snape walk in with large black robes that swished with his steps. He started the class with roll call, and he paused at my name.

"Ah, yes. Harley Potter. Our new...Celebrity." A few students, mainly Slytherin, sniggered, but stopped when Snape looked at them. The professor finished the attendance, and then looked at all of us. His eyes were cold and black. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses...I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

He paced and left a little silence after that piece of information. Then, he started moving again, but called out my name.

"Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked me.

Even though they did sound familiar, like I had read about them in a book, I didn't remember. "I'm not sure, Sir."

"Tut, tut. Clearly fame isn't everything. Let's try again, Potter. Where would you look if I was to ask you to find a bezoar?" He asked.

That, I did remember. "Bezoars are found in the stomachs of goats, sir. I did read the material before coming to school."

"Very well, then. One last question. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

I racked my brain, trying to remember what the Herbology book had said about those, and remembered that one as well. "They're the same plant, just by different names. It goes by a third, but I don't remember it."

"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. You were correct about the bezoar, it is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons, and monkshood and wolfsbane also go by the name of aconite." He looked at all of us, and then said, "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

We all got out parchment and quills, and wrote down the answers to the questions I was given. I didn't understand why he had called on me, when there were at least ten other students in the room.

We were all split into pairs after that, to make a potion to cure boils. I paired up with Dean, while Seamus and Neville worked together. I pulled my hair back and got to work with Dean. Snape walked around with his black cloak billowing around his legs, criticising everything that the Gryffindors did, but didn't do much to the Slytherins. I was taking our cauldron off the fire while Dean prepared the porcupine needles, when acid green smoke and a hissing noise erupted from the workspace next to us.

I watched as Neville's cauldron melted and spilled potion everywhere, while everyone close got onto their stools to prevent getting burned. "Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville nodded from the floor where he had collapsed, boils popping up on his face, arms and legs. "Take him to the Hospital Wing," he told Seamus. Then he turned to us. "You, Potter. Why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you?"

That was so unfair. I stood up, and started to say something. "No, sir. I was making sure that I didn't-"

"That is five points off Gryffindor for talking back to a professor. Continue with the lesson." For the next hour, I suffered under his glare while Dean and I took turns adding and stirring the potion.

|HP|

I gathered my things and met up with the other girls. "Why does he hate me so much?" I asked them as we walked up the stairs from the dungeons.

"Don't think about it too much, Harley, he's always been like that," Lavender said.

"Yeah, it was unfair of him to only ask you, but he is Professor Snape. He's known for picking on Gryffindor students like that."

"No, I don't think it's that. I think it's just the fact that I'm the 'New Celebrity' here, and he thinks that I'm stuck up or something. Like I've had the perfect life and he feels like I should be punished for that."

"Well, it's almost three. I better be going to Hagrids," I said. "Anyone want to join me?"

"I'll go with you," Hermione volunteered. "See you guys at the Common room."

"Thanks," I said as we started to walk towards the hut where he lived.

We walked down a path that led to the hit on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and I knocked on the door. I jumped as a large animal shoved the door and started to bark very loudly.

We stood back as we heard Hagrid shouting at the dog. "Back, Fang. Back!" The door opened, and I saw that Hagrid was holding a massive dog back by his collar. "Fang, back! Come on in, don' mind Fang, he loves people, but he doesn' understand he's not a lap dog."

"That's okay," I replied as Hermione and I entered the one room hut. There were pheasants and hams hanging from the ceiling in one place, there was a copper kettle over a fire, and a massive bed in an alcove of the hut.

"This is Hermione," I said as he let go of Fang's collar. The large dog bounded up to me and started to lick my hands.

"Nice ter meet you, Hermione. Now, why don't ye sit down and I'll get you some tea." We did sit down at the table, close to the fireplace. I began to tell him about the lessons we had today, and about how Snape had called me out in front of the class for something that wasn't even my fault.

"Well, tha's Professor Snape fer yeh. Never did like any students that weren't his own, picks on everyone. But I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

"That's what the girls said, but I'm not so sure."

"Well, how are the Weasleys? I remember that the youngest son is attending now," Hagrid said, changing the subject. Hermione started a rant about the twin's pranks, and how bad Ron was doing in classes already.

I looked at the table, and under the teacosey was a newspaper cutting, from the Daily Prophet. I picked it up, and read it.

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July,_

_widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown._

_Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault_

_that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._

_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if_

_you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes goblin this_

_Afternoon._

"Gringotts had a breakin on my birthday?" I said, not believing what I read. Neither of them answered me. Fang whimpered as he laid his head on my lap. I scratched his head and he started to wag his tail.

"You have a way with him, Harley. Animals seem drawn ter yeh from what I've seen," Hagrid said as Fang's tail knocked the chair leg.

"Yeah, I guess. I like them much more than some people, that's for sure."

"Well, we'd better be going now, don't want to be late for curfew," Hermione said as she stood up.

"Yeah, I'll see you later Hagrid. Bye Fang," I said as I stood up and gave the dog a kiss on the head.

~HP~

We walked quickly back to the castle, and made it before curfew an hour early. We did need to do homework, so we worked in the common room, listening to the chatter of other students around us.

Then, I yawned. "I'm going to go to bed now, see you in the morning Hermione."

I walked up the stairs, and opened the book I had shoved the note into. Opening to the page where it was, and read it.

_Dear HP,_

_I apologise for my behavior on the train. My father has expectations of me, and beratting Weasleys is one of them. Our families have had a feud for years, but I am not exactly sure of the reason. My father does have eyes on me in the school, but that's not an excuse for being so rude. I would like to have a friendship with you, and if you would like that, then you can write a response on the parchment, and tap it three times. It has an enchantment on it that will help it deliver your message to me. If our houses have any classes together, then carry it with you and it should find itself in my robe pocket._

_Sincerely__, _

_DM_

I decided that I would do what he asked, and grabbed a quill from my nightstand.

_Dear DM,_

_I accept your apology, even if I feel like maybe I shouldn't. I understand expectations and having family watching your every move. It's different in my case, but I understand nonetheless. I have a feud, I guess, with my relatives. They seem to hate me for being magic, and now I understand they were watching for signs of it, trying to stamp it out before it began. If you receive this, then the enchantment did it's job correctly._

_HP_

I folded the note, and tapped it three times with my wand. It did nothing, but I put it back in the book to take tomorrow. I changed into my night clothes, and laid down on my bed, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

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**So, one more chapter done. I've counted the votes from the poll, and Draco is in first with 6 votes, 2nd, George with 4, 3rd is Neville with 3. Other votes are there, but this is the top three. Thank you for favoriting and following, as well as reviewing my story. I have also updated chapter 7 after realizing I forgot a piece of text, the chocolate frog card of Dumbledore. If any of you see any more mistakes like that, please feel free to tell me, and I'll change them.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Oriande Moonshadow- **Thank you so much for reviewing! It brought me joy while I read it, and your reactions made me laugh. And this is Investigator Queen, telling Detective Oriande that your guess would be correct. The word Snape mouths in his shock is indeed Lily. Thank you for your compliments and I hope that you have a good day as well.


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up with a start, hearing the alarm clock. Waking up, I quickly changed and brushed my teeth, putting the note into my pocket. Going down to the Common Room, people were clustering next to the Gryffindor Notice board. I went over to it, and saw that there was a new poster, announcing that flying lessons would start Thursday with Slytherin House.

I groaned, having never been on a broom before, thinking I would make a fool of myself, but then remembered there were at least two others in my House that had never been on a broom before. The boys were always talking about Quidditch and flying, and about how they all had 'near death' experiences on a broom. The only others were Hermione, who was a Muggleborn, and Neville, who's grandmother never let him near one.

Everyone was talking about it at breakfast, until the mail arrived. Owls were everywhere, and Headwig came in to get a piece of bacon. As she perched on the table, a large barn owl dropped a round package in front of Neville. He opened it excitedly, and he held a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things, this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red, oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "You've forgotten something…"

"You'll remember it, Neville. Don't worry," I said as Headwig flew out with the other owls when she had finished her bacon.

Then I saw a blonde head walk towards our table, and Draco Malfoy grabbed the Remembrall out of Neville's hands.

"Malfoy!" I said harshly, feeling the parchment crawl out of my pocket and onto the floor. "Give it back."

"I was just looking," he muttered, then walked back to his table. I breathed out slowly, calming my nerves before I got too anxious.

"Did you see the way he just backed off like that? I think you scared him!" Ron said from across the table. "I don't believe we've been introduced yet. I'm Ron, Ron Weasley. I know you already know my brothers, Fred and George."

"Yeah, we met on the train. I'm Harley."

After breakfast, the rest of classes passed by quickly for me, anxious for the shared flying lesson with Slytherin. Then the time finally came for the class that we all dreaded, but looked forward to as well. Almost as a whole, the Gryffindor first years went to the grounds, and we saw the Slytherins already there, standing beside a row of brooms on the ground.

Most of us did the same, but the few that didn't waited for the teacher, Madam Hooch arrived. She looked at us with her yellow eyes like a hawk watches a mouse from the sky. She walked inbetween the rows of brooms, and then shouted, "Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone stand next to a broomstick, hurry up!" I looked at the one that was by my feet, with it's odd ends and twigs sticking out. "Stick out your right hand over your broom, and say up!"

"UP!" I half shouted, and my broom came straight into my hand, but mine was one of the few that did. Hermione's had rolled on the ground, and Neville's didn't even move.

After about half of the class had gotten their brooms, Madam Hooch showed us how to not fall off or slide off the end of our brooms, and taught us the right way to grip the handle of the broom.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle, three, two-"

But Neville had already pushed off of the ground in his freight, rising fast. I guessed he was about twenty feet up before his face turned completely white, and then he slid off of the end with a gasp.

WHAM! He hit the ground with a thud, as well as an audible crack that made my stomach churn. "Broken wrist," Madam Hooch muttered. "None of you are to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

I watched as he hobbled off, clutching his arm as Hooch took him to the Hospital Wing. But no sooner had they gone, Malfoy and most of the other Slytherins laughed.

"Did you see his face?" Malfoy said.

"Oh, shut up Malfoy," Parvati snapped.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

I frowned when I heard their comments, confused about how serious the house rivalry was between the Lions and Snakes.

"Look, it's that stupid thing Longbottom's Gran sent him." He moved forwards, and picked the glass Remembrall from where Neville had fell.

"Give it here, Malfoy," I said calmly, walking up to him.

"No, I think not. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find-how about up a tree?" He retorted, grabbing his broom and flying high.

"Malfoy, it's not yours, give it back." I shouted at him, my anger rising. I remembered the letter, and started to regret writing a response.

"Then come and get it!" He flew higher and farther away.

I groaned, then picked up my broom from the ground. Hermione stepped in front of me. "No, Harley. You can't do it, you'll get us all in trouble! Madam Hooch told us not to move!"

"I have to do this, Hermione. He's a bully, like all the ones before I came here. I have a chance to stop it, and I'm not letting that go." I pushed off the ground, and went flying into the sky. Air rushed through my long hair, and my robes whipped out behind me, and in a rush of fierce joy I realized he'd found something I could do without being taught, this was easy, this was wonderful. It felt so natural to be up in the air, flying on a broomstick. I went higher, and I could tell that the girls below were anxious for me.

I leaned forwards, moving closer to Malfoy. "Give it back, Malfoy. You don't have to do this. If what you wrote to me true, don't make me regret what I wrote in reply it!" I hissed at him, and he looked surprised, like he didn't know that it had been returned to him.

His face turned sullen. "Then catch it if you can!" he shouted, then descended fast. The glass sphere went up a little, then started to arc down. I knew from this height it would break, so I dived after it. I reached for it, and gathered speed as I raced after it. The air whipped my hair around me, and made my eyes water, but at just the right moment, I caught it about one foot from hitting the ground, and I pulled my broom up fast, and slowed down a bit before I fell off.

"HARLEY POTTER!" My heart sank and my eyes widened as I got up, seeing Professor McGonagall rushing towards me. I was breathing hard, shaking, as she approached. "How dare you! You could've broken your neck!" She was almost speechless with shock, but so was I.

"Professor, it wasn't her fault-" Parvati started.

"Be quiet, Miss Patil."

"But Malfoy-"

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

I saw how smug Crabbe and Goyle looked, but also how curious and shaken Malfoy looked. I turned, and followed Professor McGonagall into the castle. I kept going over in my head the multiple possibilities of punishments, expulsion, and other scenarios that just came and went in my mind.

She was walking so fast, I had to almost run to catch up, but when we reached the marble stairs, she still didn't say anything to me. We went through many other doors, and finally reached what I thought was the Charms classroom, when the Professor poked through the door, and asked, "Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

My eyes widened about the thought of what that might have been, but then a tall boy from fifth year came out, looking confused. "Follow me, you two." He looked at me weirdly, and I felt embarrassed by what might have been my rats nest of a head of hair, blown into a weird parting because of the wind. We followed the Professor, and I tried to run my hands through my hair, with no luck. "In here," she said at last, and pointed us into an almost empty classroom.

Peeves was in there as well, drawing on the chalkboard. "Out, Peeves!" she barked, and Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face us.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

"Are you serious, Professor?" He asked, now looking very excited.

"Absolutely. The girl's a natural! I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broom?" I nodded slowly, not sure what was going on yet. "She caught that thing in her hand after a fifty foot dive, not a scratch on her! Not even Charlie Weasly could have done it."

Wood now looked like a kid in a candy shop, like his dreams had finally come true. "Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked me.

I shook my head as McGonagall told me, "Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team."

"She's just the right build for a Seeker as well. Light, speedy, but she'll need a decent broom, a Nimbus two thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, perhaps."

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…" She stared at me from behind her glasses. "I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." Then, she smiled at me. "Your father would have been proud, he was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

I smiled at that, and then she turned serious again. "Wood, you can go back to class to catch the end of it, if you hurry. Potter, you better get back to the end of your lesson as well."

I nodded, and started to walk back to class. "You'll never make it there at that pace, you know." I heard her footsteps fade the other way, and I started to run back to class, and even got back before Hooch.

"What did she say to you?" My classmates asked me when I got back.

"I'll tell you guys later, not here."

"Alright! Class will be cut short for the day, go back to your Common Rooms until dinner," Madam Hooch called to us. "But put away your brooms!"

~HP~

At dinner that night, I was so excited I could barely sit still. "Oi, what's gotten you so excited, Harley? You haven't been still since the flying lesson today," Ron said, munching on chicken.

"I'm not really supposed to tell anyone yet, but I do need to tell someone." Hermione and Dean, who were sitting next to me, leaned in.

"Can we know as well?" Dean asked.

"Okay, so you know how McGonagall talked to me after I dived? She took me to a classroom near the Charms Classroom, where the fifth year Gryffindors had a lesson. She took out Oliver Wood, and then told us that I was going to be the new Gryffindor Seeker! He told me that I would be the youngest Seeker in almost a century! But I have to work really hard, or she'll take me out and decide on a punishment. But then, she mentioned how proud my dad would've been, if he were here. Apparently, he was a really good player, so I feel like he'll be with me every time I get onto a broomstick now, like he's going to help me or something. But you guys can't tell anyone! Wood wants to keep it a secret until my first practice next week."

"Blimey, Harley. That's brilliant!" Ron said through a full mouth.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, Ron, it's gross." I said, and saw that the twins walked into the Hall, and saw me and hurried over.

"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harley, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

"Ron, who's Charlie? McGonagall said his name when she told Wood about the dive I did, that not even he Charlie Weasley could've done it. Is he a brother of yours?" I asked him.

"Oh, yeah. Charlie's the second eldest in the family. I have…" He counted what must have been his siblings on his hand. "Six siblings. Five brothers and one sister. There's Bill, he was Head Boy here, but now he's a curse-breaker for Gringotts, Charlie, who was Quidditch Captain, but he works with dragons in Romania now, Percy, who you know, the Twins, me, then my little sister, Ginny. She starts next year."

But not long after he said that, someone I was not expecting to come to the table stood behind me. "Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

I turned to face Malfoy. "Contrary to that, Malfoy, I'm staying right here in Hogwarts. But you could place that bet in at the end of the year, when I do go back to them for the Summer. You do notice that you seem a lot braver now that you're on the ground with your goons over here."

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only, no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

I started to open my mouth to say no, but then Ron spun around and replied for me. "Of course she has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm her second, who's yours?"

"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, it's always unlocked."

When Malfoy had gone, I looked at Ron like he was crazy. "What did you do that for? And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on my face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"I was going to refuse, Ron! I don't need to get into trouble like that, but now I guess I'll have to!"

"You can't go, Harley! You'll get in trouble," Hermione said.

"Well, I wasn't, but now if I don't I'll seem like a coward and a liar for going back on my word. It's stupid, I know, but I just can't quit something after I've started it, even if I wasn't the one to actually start it. But, could you help me practice my spellwork, just because I don't want to lose."

"Well, if you really want to go through with this, I guess the least I could do is make sure you're prepared for it."

* * *

**And, that's where I'll leave off. Isn't it exciting? She's on the team, she just found out something about her dad, she stood up to Malfoy once and now she's going to do it again, or so she thinks. I'm kinda keeping to canon here, but making it up as I go as well.**

**Again, I will say this: I will do my best to post on Tuesdays, or if not then, post on Thursday the same week. If you guys are lucky, I'll post two chapters in the same week. Please favorite, follow, and review my story. Also, please go check out the poll on my page!**

**REVIEWS:**

**627-OrganizedChaos- **Yeah, Ronald is pretty annoying, but he is an important character, at least for the first few parts of my version of the story. If anything, he will be needed for the Chess match later. And Draco is still a jerk, but I'm hoping with time he can see that there's more than one path then the one your parents lay out, and his wand core is Unicorn hair, so his heart and wand aren't really into what he did. To the public, he's still going to be a prat, but it's a facade needed for at least right now, and more letters will be exchanged.

**To everyone else who commented: **Thank you for expressing your love for my story!


	11. Chapter 11

We waited in the Common Room until it was half past eleven. Ron, Hermione, and I stepped out of the portrait hole and into the corridor. "I still don't understand why she has to come," Ron grumbled, not really Hermione's biggest fan.

"Because she's my best friend, and the most level headed Gryffindor in our year. You are only coming because you volunteered yourself as my second. Now, where's the trophy room?"

Ron lead the way, all of us silently walking through the halls, not wanting to be caught by Mrs. Norris or Filch. The staircase to the third floor was still, and in a short time, we made it to the Trophy Room with no problems. Looking around, the moonlight from the window lit up the silver and gold trophies, all sorts of shapes.

I took out my wand, in case Malfoy and Crabbe were there, but it seemed they had chickened out. Looking around, there must have been hundreds of trophies in the room.

"They're not here, they must've changed their minds," I whispered to Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah, they've chickened out," Ron whispered back. We all jumped as we heard a noise like metal clattering onto the stone floor, and heavy footsteps in the other room.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner," he said, and we all silently walked towards the door, not wanting to be caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris.

I tapped on Ron and Hermione's shoulders, and mouthed "Follow me."

We slowly crept out of the room, and made our way across the hall away from Filch and his cat. Ron squeaked when he tripped over his own feet, and fell into a suit of armor. The resulting clang was loud enough for Filch to hear and follow us.

"Run!" Hermione shouted, and we all sprinted through the hallway, not knowing or caring where we were going. We swung behind a tapestry, which was hiding a secret passageway, and followed it until we came out near the Charms Classroom, which was far away from the Trophy Room.

We stood panting, our backs against the wall. "I told you," Hermione said between gasps of breath.

"I know, I didn't even want to do this in the first place," I replied to her.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

"For once, you're right. We don't want to be caught out here," I said, looking around.

We started to walk towards the Tower, when one of the doorknobs rattled from the inside, and Peeves came shooting out of a classroom. He gave a squeal of delight when he saw us. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty," he cackled.

"You'll get us caught, Peeves, please be quiet," I whispered.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves which was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

We all started to run again, straight into a locked door. "Come on! Hermione, is there a spell that can unlock this door?" I asked.

"Yes," she grabbed my wand, and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora"

The door swung open, and we got through it, shutting it behind us. I pressed my ear to the door to hear what happened next, and Filch came just seconds after we came through the door. He pestered Peeves, but he didn't tell him anything. Filch walked past the door, but didn't investigate it, thinking it was locked.

"He's gone, he thinks the door is locked."

"Well, that's the least of our worries," Hermione whispered.

"What?" I asked, then turned around, and saw a huge, three headed dog growling at us. "We're in the forbidden corridor, aren't we." Hermione nodded, and the dog started to growl louder.

"I'm going to open the door, be ready to run and close it after we're through. Then we're going to get back to the Common Room." They both nodded, and I could see that Hermione was looking at something on the floor, and I followed her gaze to it's paws, one of which was on a wooden trapdoor. My eyes widened, and I opened the door slowly, just enough for each of us to slip out. "Okay, it's open," I whispered, and Hermione and Ron slipped out before me.

The dog barked, and I got out before it charged me, shutting the door before it could get me. Even through the door and the walls, I could hear it's barks, muffled, but still loud. "We need to go before we're caught out here," I said, and we all started to run back to the Tower.

|HP|

We finally made it back to the tower, and we sat down in the Common Room for a few minutes. "Well, we just survived an encounter with a three headed dog. Who in their right mind would put such a beast in the castle? I mean, yes, it was forbidden, but who's to say that people don't get lost? Like we did?" I started to ramble. "But I think I know the why part."

"So do I," Hermione added in. "It must be guarding something under the school."

"How d'you know that?" Ron asked, yawning.

"Because it was standing on a trap door. It must have been put there to guard something, but what?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, but if anyone knows anything about the dog, then I think I know where we can start," I said.

"And where exactly would that be?" Ron yawned.

"With Hagrid, he knows animals, and if I was Professor Dumbledor and I needed to get a large dog into the castle, then Hagrid would be the one I would ask to help."

"That makes sense, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, then." And with that, Ron went into his dorm.

"So, I think I also know what it's guarding. A package that Hagrid got from Gringotts when we went."

"Well, I think we should probably get to bed now, it's pretty late. We can talk about this later," Hermione said, yawning. I nodded, and we both made it up to our dormitory to go to sleep.

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**Well, another chapter uploaded, another chapter started. It's been a busy week, so sorry for not posting on Tuesday. I had a bad case of procrastination and writers block. Hope you've enjoyed this shorter chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up on my own due to the sun shining in my face, earlier than normal. A few days had passed since the dog, which gave me nightmares since we met it. It reminded me slightly of Aunt Marge's dog, Ripper. And from that fear, stemmed last night's nightmare. Ripper was playing tug-of-war with the Cerberus, which was what I was calling it since we didn't know it's name, and Cerberus was a three headed dog. The dogs were playing tug-of-war, but it wasn't with a rope, it was with me. It felt like I was going to be ripped apart by the two dogs that had their teeth at my feet and hands. I shuddered, trying to put it out of my mind.

I yawned, and sat up. It was monday, and I had made a point of not leaving the common room until classes started back up after friday's mess, having Hermione bring me food through the day. I didn't know why Malfoy had challenged me, and then just backed out at the last minute, but if he truly wanted to become friends, then I wanted to make him worry about me actually being expelled before showing my face. It sounded petty, but whatever.

I got dressed, and grabbed a book to read until the other girls got up, and went to the common room to wait so I wouldn't go alone. I didn't have to wait long, just about fifteen minutes, for the rest of them to come down. Hermione, Ron, and I haven't talked about what we found on the third floor.

"Why're you up so early?" Hermione asked.

"Nightmare about a bad encounter with a dog, and the sun was in my face. So I just got up, but I didn't want to go down to breakfast alone."

"Well, we're here now, so we should go down now before it's over," Lavender said.

We all walked out of the portrait hole, and towards the Great Hall. We didn't pass anyone, but when we entered the hall, I could see Malfoy's face light up, but then just as quickly turn into a scowl. I give him the same look, and follow my friends to the table.

We were just in time, because not ten minutes later the owls came soaring in with mail. I had piled bacon and eggs onto my plate, when everyone gasped at a large, thin package being flown in by a few large owls. They swooped down, and placed it in front of me, to my surprise.

Then Hedwig came down and sat down on my shoulder with a note in her beak. I gave her a piece of my bacon to trade, and she affectionately ruffled my hair in front of my face with her beak before taking the bacon and flying back out with the other owls.

I looked at the note first, ignoring the stares from the other students, and read it.

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

_It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session._

_Professor McGonagall_

I almost squealed with joy at this, looking to see if Professor McGonagall was at the teachers table. She saw me looking at her, then gave a slight nod that might've gone unnoticed to the other people around me. I was so excited, I had seen the broom in the window of a sports store in Diagon Alley and overheard some boys talking about it being the best there was yet. I was startled out of my thoughts by a voice next to me.

"What is it, Harley?" asked Ron, who had just came in and sat in the empty spot next to me.

"It's my broom for Quidditch!" I said, trying to keep still.

"What model is it?" asked Dean, who had come in with Ron.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand," I whispered. "I'm gonna finish eating, then take it up and put it in our Dormitory until later."

I started to eat my food faster, and grabbed the package by the middle and took it off of the table.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" I said, and the girls all nodded.

I exited the Great Hall, and started to make my way to the Gryffindor dormitory. I was deep in my thoughts, letting my eyes wander around the hall, that I didn't notice that I walked right into someone.

"Ah!" I yelled, dropping my broomstick in surprise.

I stepped back a few steps, and saw it was Draco Malfoy I had knocked into.

"Well, what's this?" asked a boy next to him, Blaise Zabini, if I remembered correctly from the sorting. He picked up the package I had dropped, then tossed it back to me. "You're going to be in so much trouble, Potter. First years aren't supposed to have brooms."

"Well, it's none of your business, Zabini," I said.

"I hope there's no fighting, here," said a voice, and I saw Professor Flitwick come up to us.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, sir," said Malfoy.

"Yes, yes. That's right. Professor McGonagall told me of the circumstances. What model is it?" he asked.

"It's a Nimbus Two Thousand, sir. And to tell the truth, I wouldn't have my place on the team if it wasn't for Malfoy here," I said.

"Very nice, I will see you in class later, then," Professor Flitwik said, walking into the great hall.

I smirked at the Slytherins, then ran to the Girls dormitory and put the broom under my bed until my lesson with Wood later that night.

|HP|

All through my lessons that day, I was so excited for practice that night that I couldn't concentrate correctly, but I did make an effort to pay attention. The day just went by fast, so when I ate dinner at the table, I was just bursting with excitement.

"Does anyone know what time it is?" I asked, because one thing about the Wizarding world was they don't have clocks.

"It's almost six thirty," replied a third year after casting a charm, who was sitting close to us.

"Thanks," I said, then finished the Yorkshire pudding I was eating, and started towards the Common Room to get ready for the training session with Wood.

After running up the stairs to my Dormitory, I grabbed the broomstick from underneath my bed, and unwrapped it. It had a sleek mahogany handle, a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top of the handle.

"Wow," I murmured, looking at it. I didn't really know much about brooms, but this one was high quality, and would probably a very fast broom.

After grabbing my broom, I headed down to the Quidditch Arena, not wanting to be late. When I finally reached the stadium, it looked so large. There were hundreds of seats raised above the ground, and there were three, tall, golden hoops standing at each end of the stadium.

I looked around, and saw that Wood wasn't yet there, so I tried flying again before he had come, just to feel the wind in my face again. I wove inbetween the goalposts, through the hoops, and the length of the field. It felt amazing, and the broom moved anywhere I wanted to go with just a slight motion.

I went up higher, and tried diving again when I saw a figure walking into the field. As I got closer to the ground, I saw it was Wood, and he was carrying a crate of some sort.

"I see what McGonagall meant, you're a natural at flying. Tonight, I'm gonna go over the rules of the game, and then a bit of practice with the different balls used in the game.

"In total, there are four balls used in the game, and seven players on a team. The three chasers go after this ball," he said, tossing me the large red one. "It's called a Quaffle. The chasers pass it back and forth and try to score the ball by throwing it in the hoops. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. I'm the Keeper, so it's my job to keep the Quaffle out of our goal hoops. You following me?"

"Yeah, three Chasers try to keep the Quaffle away from the other team and score it through a hoop. The Keeper tries to keep the Quaffle away from the hoops."

"Okay, next, the Bludgers. The Bludgers are these two here," he said, pointing to two identical jet black balls. "I'm going to show you what they do, so take this and stand back."

He unlatched one of the clasps keeping one of the Bludgers down, and the ball went flying high into the air. Then, it chose to come right back down, angled right towards my face. I took a step back, then swung at it with all my might with the bat in my hands, sending it at least fifty feet away. Once it came within reaching distance, Wood had to jump on top of it and put it back into the case.

"That's why we need two Beaters. They keep the Bludgers away from our players, and knock them into the other team. Any questions so far?"

"Have the Bludgers ever killed someone?" I asked.

"No, the worst these can do is break your jaw. But you don't have to worry about that, the Weasley's are more than a match for the Bludgers. Now, the last player on the team is the Seeker, which is you for our team. Your job is to catch this." He pulled out the fourth ball, which was the size of a walnut. It was a bright gold color, with shimmery silver wings. "This is the Golden Snitch. It's extremely fast, and it's color makes it almost impossible to see. While you have your eyes on this, you also have to by hyper-aware of everything going on around you, because you have to weave in and out of the other players, the Bludgers, and the other Seeker, because you don't want them to see it first, if they catch it, then the game is ended and their team gets an extra hundred fifty points. You got all of that?"

"I think. The three Chasers try to score the Quaffle through the opposite team's hoops, while the Keeper tries to keep the Quaffle out of the hoops. The two Beaters have to knock the Bludgers away from our team and into the other team's players, and I have to catch the Golden Snitch before the other team to end the game and score a hundred fifty more points," I replied, counting the players on my hand.

"Okay, let's start practice. We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these first."

He pulled a bag of gulf balls out of his pocket. "We'll both be flying around, and I'll toss these around. The goal is for you to catch them before they hit the ground or go out of the arena."

I nodded, and kicked off of the ground once I was on my broom. We spent half an hour tossing and throwing the golf balls, and I didn't miss a single one. After that exercise, it was too dark to do anything else, so we landed and headed back into the castle.

"That Quidditch cup will have our name on it this year. I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons," he said when we made it to the Common Room. "Well, good night, Potter. See you next practice."

I trudged up the steps, my muscles more sore than I thought they'd be. I quickly showered before going to bed, putting my hair in a loose braid to dry. I was so excited for the next practice, where the entire team would be there. I went to sleep that night with dreams of brooms and gold.

* * *

**Yay! Two chapters done in a week, I feel so proud of myself! I am so sorry for the short chapter I posted earlier this Sunday, but I couldn't get anything done and I was reading a really good fanfiction. Procrastination at it's finest. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Remember to favorite, follow, and comment, and please go check out my poll in my profile!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Two months passed by very quickly. I had homework galore, which I tried to do every night before Quidditch practice, which was three days a week, and History, which I didn't find very interesting. Lessons were getting more interesting because we had mastered the basics, and I found magic very interesting, watching older students do their homework in the Common Room had taught me to manage my time better as well.

Even though Hermione and Ron had basically forgotten the large dog we found on the third floor, I did wonder who brought it food and where it had come from, or if it even had a name. I always had a soft spot for animals, they always seemed to like me.

The morning of Halloween, the smells of pumpkin wafted through the castle, and I could barely believe that I had been at Hogwarts for two months. It felt so much like a home, I sadly thought of when the end of the year would come, and I would have to go back to the Dursleys at Number 4 Privet drive.

After lunch, one of our classes was Charms, and Professor Flitwick said that we would be practicing making objects fly. That lesson was in great participation since we all saw him make Neville's toad, Trevor, fly across the room. I did feel bad for Neville and the toad, though, because toads don't fly.

We were put in partnered pairs, and my partner was Seanmus, who tended to blow things up on accident every now and then. Hermione was paired up with Ron, who didn't really like her all that much.

We were practicing the levitation spell, and so far, no one was having any luck with it. I went over the incantation in my head multiple times, but while I did that, Seamus had poked the feather with his wand impatiently, setting it on fire.

I jumped, and grabbed my textbook and dropped it on the feather, hoping to drive out the air source of the burning. "Can you please not set our feather on fire next time?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that again," he replied, soot staining his face and wand hand.

Then, we heard Hermione say the spell, "Wingardium Leviosa," and it started to float through the air! I smiled, of course she would be the first one to master it, she'd spend all night looking through the course books, even if she had them memorised, practicing pronunciation and the shown wand movements.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it! Five points to Gryffindor!"

For the rest of the class, no one else had been able to make their feathers float, but I did make ash float off of our burned feather, so I thought that was cool, even if it wasn't my goal.

At the end of class, I was walking behind Ron and Seamus, when I heard him say "It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly." I just gasped at how he could say that to her. A second later, she rushed past us, and I thought she was crying.

"That wasn't very nice, Ronald! You don't know how hard she's been working, you don't have any right to say that!" I almost shouted.

"Well, it's true! She doesn't have friends."

I so wanted to slap him, but I was afraid of getting in trouble. So instead, I just grit my teeth and pushed passed him, trying to go after Hermione, but I didn't know where she went.

The day passed in a blur, and I couldn't find Hermione anywhere. She wasn't in any classes, and I was worried about her. When it reached dinner time, I looked around, and she wasn't there.

The Great Hall was decorated fully, though, with live bats flying around near the ceiling, swooping down and up in large black clouds.

We sat down at our respective tables, and I saw the rest of my dorm mates. "Hey, where's Hermione? I haven't seen her since Charms."

Lavender frowned. "She's hiding out in a bathroom because of what Weasley said. She's been refusing our company, so we haven't talked to her."

"Oh. I told him off after that, I was hoping to find her. Do you know which bathroom?" I asked.

"Yeah, the one on the third floor, but I'm not sure if she'd want to talk to you," replied Parvati.

"Well, I can still bring her some food. She wasn't at lunch, so she must be hungry." Going with that idea, I grabbed some meats, rolls, potatoes, and a few other things I could onto my plate. "If a teacher asks where I've gone, you can tell them the truth."

I stood, and took the plate and two forks out of the Hall, and towards the stairs. I wanted to be quick enough so no one would see that I had left.

No sooner than I was on the third floor, I heard footsteps coming closer, and hid behind an alcove in the wall. As the figure passed, I saw it was Professor Quirrell, and he was walking slowly, a cruel look on his face. He looked behind him as if he was being followed by something, or to look for anyone watching him.

Then, he bolted down to the staircase, and I shuddered. What was he doing? I decided to continue on my way, and found the bathroom that Hermione was in.

"Hermione?" I called out. Nothing. "It's me, Harley. You should know that you do have friends. Me, the other girls in the dorm, Hedwig my owl seems to like you as well, and I'm betting that if we talk to the other houses, then you could find more friends. Or I could get you a cat or something for Christmas." A sniff.

"You shouldn't listen to Ronald, he can be a prat sometimes. I brought some food, I thought you would be hungry because you missed lunch." One of the stalls opened, and I saw Hermione come out with tear streaks on her face, eyes puffy from crying.

"Thanks, but I don't think my parents would let me keep one just yet." I smiled, and gave her a one armed hug. "Thanks for bringing dinner."

"It's no problem, it's what friends do. And you should definitely come down to the Great Hall, it's decorated for Halloween, with live bats, floating pumpkins, and I'm betting there'll be a whole lot of sweets for dessert."

She started to nod her head, but then her eyes grew wide and started to back away. "Harley, back up slowly." I was confused, but then a putrid smell hit my nose, making me gag and turn around.

There was a troll standing in the entryway of the bathroom, sniffing the air. "I think it smelled the food. But how did it get into the castle?" I whispered, horrified. After I saw it, I couldn't move. I was too scared.

It suddenly roared, and I screamed. It turned towards me and started to move, and I did the first thing that came to mind. I threw the plate right into its face.

Or, I tried to at least. I flung it at its face, but it fell short and landed on its chest, dropping to the ground.

I took out my wand, hoping to remember something that would be useful. "Hermione, what do we do?"

"I-I don't know! Nothing we know could possibly work against it!"

I ran a mental list of all the spells we had learned in our time in Hogwarts, but it wasn't at all anything useful.

But then, I remembered the spell we had learned today, the Levitation spell.

"What about its club? If we can lift it high enough above its head, we could probably knock it out!"

The troll had advanced a bit more, and was picking meat off of its chest. I took a slow breath, and while it was distracted, I pointed my wand at the club.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" I did the wand movement, and the club raised out of the trolls hand, and over its head. It took notice of this, but before it could do anything, the spell ended, and the club dropped on its head with a sickening crack!

I backed up to where Hermione was standing, and watched it fall forwards. It hit the floor, and lay still.

"Oh my gosh, I actually did that!"

Not a second after I did that, Professor McGonagall had burst into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll, inspecting it to see if it was dead. Professor McGonagall looked at me and Hermione, and I swore I had never seen her so mad before.

"What on earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"We didn't mean to be out, Professor, but I was looking for Hermione before dinner, I didn't stay in the Great Hall except to get some food to bring with me."

"And why, I ask, were you looking for Miss Granger?" asked Snape.

"I was the topic of a few rude comments after Charms class, and I came to hide out here. Harley was just being a good friend," Hermione said.

"So you didn't hear the panicked announcement from Professor Quirrell about the troll?"

I shook my head. "No, as soon as I got to the Great Hall, I asked where Hermione was, and took some food with me to share with her, since she missed lunch. The troll must've smelled what I had and followed me here. We didn't know what to do until I remembered the levitation charm we learned earlier today. I took a chance and while it was distracted, I levitated the trolls club over its head, and knocked it out."

"And this is true?" Professor McGonagall asked. We both nodded. "Then, only one question remains. Do you know who was the source of the comments that forced you to hide in the bathroom?"

"Ron Weasley, Professor. He said that Hermione was a stuck-up know-it-all who doesn't have any friends. I was right behind him when he said it, and tried to tell him off."

"Very well, then. Five points off of Gryffindor because of Mr. Weasley, talking harshly about another of their House, and ten points for you, Miss Potter, for standing up for your friend in more than one way."

I smiled gratefully at her, and looked at the other teachers. Quirrell I eyed suspiciously, because I did see him before he alerted the school of the troll, and then saw Professor Snape limp away from the troll, and walk away.

Hermione and I walked to Gryffindor Tower in silence, still in a bit of shock from the troll fiasco. When we did get to the Common Room, there was food that was brought up from the Great Hall.

"So, I think that we've had quite a night. I do wonder why bad things always happen on Halloween," remarked Hermione.

"What do you mean, always on Halloween?"

"Well, there were a lot of things going on in history, then more recently, you were orphaned. It's thought of as a great feat in history, because of your defeat of You-Know-Who, but I think that people forget that a young witch lost her parents as well."

I gave her a blank stare. "They were killed on Halloween?" I whispered.

"You didn't know?"

I shook my head. "No, my Aunt and Uncle never told me that, if they knew."

"I'm sorry, Harley. How about we get some sweets? I know treacle tart is your favorite."

"Thanks," I said, and we both got some sweets to bring up to our dorm.

* * *

**So...that's that. Sorry I'm so inconsistent in my uploading. Thanks for the reviews, and please add more, I love hearing what you guys think of my story. Please favorite, follow, and review this story! Also, if you could, either PM me or comment a new name for this story, because I'm having troubles figuring one out. If I get at least three, I'll set up a poll on my profile to see which one would work best. Thanks! Also, I might not post as often because my access to this site on my school computer has been blocked, so I'm using a different computer, on which I might be able to use every now and then.**

**~QueenBookDragon**


	14. Important Announcement! Please read

WELP. OMG, I'm so sorry you guys! i've been gone for a couple months now, and to be honest, my excuse isn't a good one. I forgot. My school chromebook stopped letting me edit docs on the account I use to write, so I kinda just forgot to write and even though I have Google Docs on my phone, I don't like using it because I can't write very fast on it, working on that problem though. i also got caught up with school, and couldn't find time to send it to my school email, and I don't have enough time in the day to do whatever studying or homework I need to do, not to mention family stuff. BUT, because it's christmas, i've decided to write this message to you guys. I'm really sorry, but I've also found that I'm not liking where the plot is taking me, and I'm really stuck on one of the chapters, so I'm just gonna rewrite the thing. I promise that when I get at least three chapters I'll post them, but thank you for being patient with me(even if you haven't). Again, thanks, and i'll see you guys later!

Also, I would appreciate it if you guys could help me come up with a title, so if you could send me one or two, the ones I like the best will be added to a poll I'm posting soon. thanks.


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